Curveball
by xRogan
Summary: Sometimes life throws you a curveball, kid. That's when you pull out the curved bat." It seems like a normal summer for Rogue, but when a shocking even occurs, Rogue had no idea what to do, and getting away from it all seems like the best decision.
1. Swimming

**Swimming**

"Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you go out in the ocean."

- Christopher Reeve

**---------------------------**

It was a boiling hot summer day in July, and I was stuck wearing a t-shirt and long nylon gloves with jeans. Not the sort of thing that's comfortable to wear when it's over thirty degree's Celsius. The sound of summer was surrounding me; children's laughter and shouting, lots of boisterous chatter, and of course the splashing of water from the mansion's outdoor pool. Bobby, Kitty, John, Jubilee, Poitr, and many others were swimming and enjoying the cool water.

I, Marie D'Ancanto, the untouchable girl, was sitting underneath a large sun umbrella on a white plastic lawn chair, reading a book that had been randomly selected for me by the Professor. I licked my thumb and flipped the page of my novel, continuing my reading from the last page. It wasn't that bad, but it wasn't amazing.

Anyway, I was about to finish off the last chapter of my book, when I heard giggling right behind me. I turned around in my chair just in time to see Jubilee and Bobby pour a particularly large bucket of water right over my head. I felt the cool yet refreshing water spill all over my head and down my shirt and even onto my jeans, soaking my entire body. I let out a scream, dropping my novel onto the sopping ground where it became as drenched as I was.

I was shocked for a couple of seconds, which gave Jubilee enough time to scurry back into the pool. Bobby was still standing there, doubled over in a laughing frenzy. I slowly stood up, feeling the water squelch and soak into any other dry part of my body, and pulled off my black sunglasses.

"BOBBY!" I screamed, lunging at him. I thought that seventeen-year olds were past this goofy prank pulling stage. He easily dodged me but tripped on his feet and fell into the pool, causing everyone else to laugh even harder. "Ugh, you bastard!" I cried out, brushing the wet strands of hair from my face. No one said anything. They just continued to laugh. I growled under my breath and turned on my heel, stalking back towards the mansion, muttering curses all the way.

I burst into the mansion, using the back door that lead into the kitchen, trying to squeeze as much water out of my clothing as I could. There were two younger kids sitting at the island, eating ice cream, and they looked up at me with wide eyes.

"What're you looking at?" I hissed, glaring at them. They quickly turned back to their cold food and ignored me. I huffed and stripped my sopping wet gloves off, storming through the hallways and up towards my room. I just turned the corner after I had climbed the stairs, when I almost collided with Logan.

"Whoa, kid—" He began, commenting on the fact that we almost flew right into each other. But then he saw that my gloves were off, so he shut his mouth. Or maybe he was just trying to figure out why I was sopping wet. I stepped back and hurriedly slipped my wet gloves back on for safety.

"Sorry…" I mumbled, looking down. And that's when I noticed I had a white t-shirt on. A white t-shirt that was sopping wet and perfectly see-through. It was clearly showing my white bra underneath. I blushed heavily and crossed my gloved arms in front of my chest. Maybe _that's_ what he was looking at. I cleared my throat and looked up at him.

"Finally went for a swim?" He asked, quirking his eyebrow and smirking slightly.

I rolled my eyes, keeping my arms across my chest. "No. Bobby and Jubilee poured water on me. I have to go get changed. I'll stay inside the whole summer where it's not boiling hot and I don't have to watch all the damn kids run around in bathing suits and have _fun_." I spat out and stared at my feet.

His face softened and his smirk disappeared. Great. Now I was going to get even more sympathy. I mean, it's not like I didn't like his sympathy. Or company. Both were great. Sometimes, such as a time like this, when I was hotheaded and quite pissed, I really didn't need him around poking at my feelings.

He opened his mouth to say something but I quickly cut him off. "Sorry, I'm just overreacting. I'm not such a jolly person around summertime. See ya later, Logan." And off I went, walking past him towards my room. I thought he might call out to me, but when I reached my room and glanced down the hallway, he was nowhere in sight.

_Probably going to go work on his bike,_ I thought to myself as I unlocked my room and stepped in. Logan had bought all these motorcycle parts with all his overflowing cash he had newly acquired from his new job as Self Defense teacher, and had been working on it mainly non-stop. I rarely saw him early in the morning but usually at night heading towards the Danger Room. I guess he was still pretty shaken up about Jean.

Ever since Jean had… well, died at Alkali Lake, Scott and Logan had been the most affected. Barely anyone had seen Scott out of his room; he sometimes went downstairs to get a glass of water, but it was mostly Storm who brought him food. I had gone to talk to him a few times, but after being ignored after hours of chatting, I just gave up. I had a life. If he didn't want to move on, that's his problem. Logan, on the other hand, was a little different.

For a while he disappeared in his room, maybe for a week, but after that… things got strange. He was always going into the Danger Room, as much as he could. No one knew what he was doing in there, and Jubilee kept prodding me to go watch him. But I always said no or chickened out; I was afraid of what he was doing in there. Or what he'd say to me. Just a couple of weeks ago, that's when he got his bike parts, and fortunately that's been taking up some of his Danger Room time.

The Professor was worried about him, so that's when he assigned Logan the Self Defense teacher position. Logan obviously turned it down the first time, but I think Xavier threatened him with something and made him do it. No one really knows.

The past few days have been pretty good between us, though. We've spoken together more often and I've even squeezed a few smiles out of him. I'm still worried about Scott, and I still miss Jean, but my life is slowly being pieced back together.

I closed my door behind me and began to strip out of my wet clothing, pulling on my favourite dark green t-shirt this time and some jeans. I sifted through my assortment of gloves and picked out some black silk opera ones and slipped those on. I walked into my bathroom and ran a brush through my hair, wincing when I hit tangled spots. Finally it was combed, so I began to blow dry it.

After that, I sat down at my desk and turned on my computer. I was glad that I didn't' have a roommate anymore. I used to share it with Kitty, but after a few close encounters with my deadly skin, I persuaded the Professor to let me have my own room. It was great, actually. I didn't have to worry about hurting anyone, I had the whole thing to myself, and I didn't have to put up with endless snoring all night. Yes, Kitty snored. I still had to ask Jubilee if she liked that her new roommate made all that noise in the middle of the night.

I checked my email quickly, but found nothing. Why was I expecting anything? Besides junk mail, I never got anything. Some days I wanted to see something from my parents. Hah. Like _that_ would ever happen. When I ran away, I was hoping they would try to contact me or hunt me down to bring me back, to tell me that they were wrong in what they said. But they never called, never found me, never _cared_. It was like they were glad that I was gone. Sure, they told me they still loved me, but I could tell from the look in their eyes that they thought I was a freak.

But although they shunned me, I still felt connected to them. I guess I still loved them. I just wish I could talk to them, just once. And not just send an email or letter, either. They could easily just delete it or burn it or something. If I could hear there voice, just once… It would make me feel so much better.

I sighed and shut off my computer, glancing across my room to my digital clock. I was surprised by how much time had passed, seeing how it was already 6:00. Dinner would be served soon, so I got up and made my way downstairs.

I found my usual group of friends sitting at a table, chatting excitedly to each other. I grabbed a spot beside my boyfriend and listened in to the wild conversation.

"—and we can ransack all the cupboards!"

"Yeah! And Kitty can phase into the liquor cabinet!"

"Hey, no I won't!"

"Aw, you're such a party pooper, Kit."

"What's goin' on, guys?" I asked, frowning at the confusion.

"Storm and the Professor are taking all the younger grades out to the museum tomorrow." John said with a sigh.

"And…?" I asked, not seeing the point.

"That means we'll have the whole mansion to ourselves, for the whole day!" Bobby said, turning to face me.

"Scott will still be here. And Logan. You know that, right guys?" Poitr reminded us.

"Yeah, yeah, like they'll be watching us." Jubilee waved off the comment.

Dinner continued like that, chattering and trying to decide what we'd do first. It sounded fun, so I decided I would play along.

That night, after everyone had gone to bed, I lay in my bed, staring up at my ceiling, unable to fall asleep. I wasn't tired, and my mind was filled with many thoughts.

_I feel like swimming_.

The thought randomly popped up in my head. I hadn't been swimming in years. I just sat by the school's pool and _watched_ people swim, which wasn't fun at all. I closed my eyes once again and tried to tell myself to go to sleep.

_Swimming._

There it was again; a stupid little voice in the back of my head, whispering at me like a mosquito. I sighed angrily and flopped onto my side.

_Swimming._

ARGH! I swiftly sat up in my bed and threw off the covers. I didn't have a bathing suit (for obvious reasons) but I decided that a dark coloured bra and underwear would work perfectly. And it's not like anyone else would be swimming out there. I glanced over to my clock. It was about 1:00 in the morning. Yup, definitely no swimmers for me to maim.

I hastily changed into my black bra and some dark blue panties, then wrapped myself up in a large fluffy white robe I received from Kitty as a birthday present last year. I grabbed a towel just incase, and silently tiptoed down the stairs and out into the balmy summer air. It felt so weird to walk around mostly naked at night with no one around you. It felt… invigorating.

I breathed in and smiled. The moonlight of an almost-full moon was casting a beautiful shadow across the yard, and the water sparkled like a rare diamond. I slipped out of my robe and placed them on a plastic chair, then walked into the warm pool.

I couldn't suppress a slight gasp as I felt the water rise from my calves to my thighs, then to my hips and stomach. I've had baths before, but swimming in a pool is different. Instead of hot water in a small, private area, you have a large amount of water in a very open place. Like I mentioned before, I hadn't been swimming in forever, so I thought that I should really make the best of it.

I dunked under the warm water and swam into the deep end, practicing to hold my breath for as long as I could. After I was content about my underwater diving skills, I then began to practice my front crawl and backstroke. I couldn't stop smiling as I splashed about in the water. I guess I hadn't noticed how much I missed swimming.

After quite a long time (I wasn't sure what the exact time was. It could have been fifteen minutes, it could have been two hours), I slowed down and noticed my breathing was laboured. I turned over so that I was floating on my back. This was so calming, I felt like I could have slept. I think I did, for a while.

"Marie?" A husky voice sounded.

I yelped and lost balance, sinking under the water for a quick moment before swimming to the surface. Once I focused on the darkened figure standing at the doorway, I saw who it was: Logan. My hands hastily wrapped themselves around my half-clad body while I tried desperately to keep my head above water with only my legs pumping.

"What the hell are you doin' out here at this time a night?" He asked me.

"I-I just… wanted to go for uh, a swim." I spluttered, continuing to cover my body.

"It's almost four o'clock in the morning, Marie." He said, sounding _slightly_ concerned. He was wearing grey sweatpants and one of his usual white wife-beaters. Logan looked almost… wet.

"Y-Yeah, I know." I was stuttering because I was nervous. I had never been this exposed to anybody, much less a guy. Much less _Logan._ The guy everyone knew I had a crush on. "Y'know, I could ask you the same thing, sugar." I retorted quickly.

He sighed and tossed what looked like a small white towel over his shoulder. "I just came back from the Danger Room. I'd like to hear your excuse." Ah. So the wet stuff was sweat. Ew. Then this image of Logan without a shirt kicking bad-guy asses flashed through my head. I blushed and almost forgot that he wanted me to explain to him why I was out here.

"Well, I, uh, felt like swimming." I said, sinking into the water until it reached my neck.

He just raised his eyebrow. He was waiting to hear the whole story, and I knew he wasn't going to budge until I spilled the beans.

I sighed and continued. "Well, I can't go swimming during the day with all those kids around, 'cause of my skin. And I was just dyin' to go and since no one was out here, I thought it'd be safe." I looked up at him innocently.

He stared at me for a few moments before sighing and nodding his head back towards the mansion. "C'mon. It's late. If the Professor caught'cha out here you'd probably be in a lot'a trouble, darlin'." He said, grabbing my robe and towel, holding it towards me. Aw, he called me 'darlin'. I loved it when he did that. Was I being immaturely in love at that moment? Yeah, I so was.

I swam to the steps and stepped out, hurrying over to where Logan was standing with my stuff. Blushing heavily and very aware that my very dangerous skin was very close to him, I grabbed the robe and rapidly put it on, tying it up. I look up at Logan and I can't seem to help it but see his gaze shift ever so slightly. Was he staring at my chest? Again?

"Let's go." He said quietly, turning into the mansion. I follow silently behind him, all the way up the stairs and down the hallway towards my room. Logan's room is only a few doors down, at the very end of the hallway. All the surrounding rooms are empty; there aren't that many students and I guessed that the Professor thinks it's a bit safer like that. I felt proud to be the closest student to Logan's room. I felt mature.

But back to my room: We stopped in front of my door while I tried to jiggle it open with my key. I finally unlocked it and I was about to step in when Logan grabbed my robe-covered arm.

"Kid, you gonna keep goin' out at night to swim?" He asked me, frowning slightly.

I shrugged. "Maybe."

"You shouldn't go by yourself. What if something happened and you drowned?" Logan asked. I shrugged and he sighed. "Well, meet me tomorrow night at the boathouse beside the Lake, twelve o'clock." He said, turning away.

"Why?" I asked. It was my turn to frown now.

He was at his door and he opened it. "You wanted to swim, didn't you?" He smirked and closed the door after him.


	2. A Party, A Swim, & A Surprise

**A Party, A Swim & A Surprise**

"Life will not break your heart. It'll crush it."

- Henry Rollins

**-------------------------------------**

The next morning, I awoke at about eleven-thirty with the sound of pounding fists against my door.

"Rogue! Get up, you lazy ass!" Jubilee was yelling through the door.

I cracked open my eyes and squinted at the bright sunlight that was streaming through my windows. I groaned and sat up, scratching the back of my head.

"Rogue!" There was more pounding on my door.

"Calm down," I called out groggily. "I'm comin'." I yawned and stretched, climbing out of bed to find some fresh clothes. I pulled on a pair of acid-wash jeans and a red t-shirt, then my long brown nylon opera gloves. I ran a brush through my hair and opened the door.

"God, it took you long enough." Jubilee said, rolling her eyes. "C'mon, let's go. We're gonna have a water gun fight!" She grabbed my gloved arm and pulled me out of my room and we ran down the hallway to the stairs where everyone else was standing.

Jubilee let go of my arm and stood in front of everybody. "Kay, Roguey's finally up, so we can start. Everyone get into partners!"

I cheerfully glanced toward Bobby to make eye contact with him, but he was already making his way towards Kitty.

"Bobby!" I called out, jumping down the last few steps. "Come on, let's get a water gun and get a head start!"

He looked over his shoulder and gave me a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, Rogue, I'm already with Kitty." He shrugged and turned around and began to talk hurriedly to her. She was smiling and made no move to interfere with his decision.

"Oh… Okay. Whatever." I said sadly. I thought when it came to partner games, boyfriend and girlfriend were always supposed to be together. I sighed and glanced back to Jubilee and Colossus. "Can I join you guys?" I asked. I felt like a total loser in elementary school who never got picked for sports.

Jubilee looked over and smiled. "Sure thing, chica. I forgot we had an odd number." She grabbed a large Super Soaker gun and shoved it into my arms. "Okay, on my count, we go and hide! One! Two! THREE!" The girls let out little squeals of fake terror and we all split off in different directions.

Soon enough, I forgot my boyfriend mishap by soaking Bobby right in the face with quite a large blast of cold water. I even got Kitty a few times before she could phase. We were having a total blast.

I was probably the best at the whole water-tag game; having some of Logan's memories and skills of hiding and sneaking really helped out. After about an hour and a half, we were soaking wet and just pooped, so we all lay on the grass by the lake to rest. I sat down beside Bobby, but to Bobby's right was Kitty. I shook off the jealous feeling that began to sneak up on me and just concentrated on the lapping waves of the lake.

It was about mid-afternoon when we headed back inside. Our clothes had mostly dried, but we all went upstairs into our rooms to change once again. Instead of partying, as Jubilee wanted to do, we spent the rest of the day in the TV room watching movies. At about five o'clock, I heard the buses screeching up the driveway. A minute later, many tired and giddy children came bursting through the front door, all making their way towards their dorms.

After the surge of students ceased, Storm and the Professor walked in, talking quietly to themselves. The Professor told something to Ororo and she nodded, and he turned and rolled down the opposite hallway, most likely heading to his office. She came over to us, smiling.

"Hey. How was your day at the mansion?" She asked, resting her hands on the couch.

"Fine." Everybody answered.

"No troubles?"

"Nope."

"Good." She gave us another smile and glanced down at her watch. "Dinner will be in about forty-five minutes. I'm going to get some rest before then. Those little kids almost killed me today!" She chuckled softly and continued. "If anyone needs me, I'll be in my room." She turned to leave, but stopped and looked over her shoulder at us. "By the way, has anyone seen Logan today?"

I frowned. I hadn't even seen him since last night. "No, not since yesterday." I answered. Although, technically, it would be since this morning.

"Oh well, maybe he's just out." 'Ro waved and then left, turning and walking towards and then up the stairs.

I decided to go pay a visit to Logan, so I stood up from my squished position between Poitr and Bobby and said, "I have to go check something. I'll see you guys at dinner?"

"See ya later, chica." Jubilee said. The rest nodded.

I smiled and left, glancing over my shoulder just in time to see Bobby sliding closer towards Kitty. I blinked and shook my head, quickly jogging up the steps to the hallway where all the student dorms were. I kept telling myself that they were just friends and that Bobby and I were together. Friends can get close to each other, they can joke, talk, and have fun. So why was Kitty getting all the attention and I, the girlfriend, wasn't getting anything? Sure, being untouchable was one large point in the matter, but still.

I sighed heavily and rubbed my eyes, hurriedly walking to Logan's room. I stopped in front of the dark-wooded door and knocked several times. After no answer, I called out, "Hello? Logan? It's me, Rogue." Again, no answer. So I turned the knob, finding that it was unlocked. I poked my head in and did a quick scan. There was no sign of Logan anywhere.

I frowned and closed the door behind me, pausing for a moment at the end of the hallway to think. Where else would Logan be if he wasn't in his room? Maybe Ororo was right; maybe Logan was just out the whole day, doing whatever he liked best. I bit the inside of my cheek, wondering if maybe he was in the Danger Room. I shrugged to myself, thinking it would be no big deal if I just went to go check it out. So I headed back down the hallway and back down the stairs, turning down another corridor to find the hidden elevator that only the X-Men and Junior X-Men knew about.

As the elevator door opened, I was shocked to see Scott standing there, looking dreadful as ever. He was wearing dirty and very wrinkled jeans with a baggy white crinkled and messy t-shirt. He hadn't shaved in weeks, and he almost had a full beard. He had bags so large under his eyes you could see them from under his sunglasses.

"Scott? Oh my God, what are you doing down here?" I blurted out before I could think of anything else to say.

"Just in the Danger Room." He said softly, his voice sounding gruffer than before and holding no emotion to it. "With Logan."

Now I was really surprised. A depressed Cyclops fighting fake bad guys in the Danger Room… with his most rivaled enemy? What had happened to him?

"I… uh…" I stuttered, too shocked to say anything. "Well, that's… good?" I said, but it came out more like a question than a statement. He gave a slight nod and stepped out of the elevator, beginning to head towards his room. "Wait, Scott." I called out, reaching over to put my hand lightly on his shoulder. He looked behind him to me, still no life in his expression. "Is Logan still down there?" He nodded and turned again, but my grip tightened to stop him. He looked back again. "If you need anything… anyone. I'm here. You can always talk to me." He sighed and nodded, but turned and continued walking until he was out of sight, saying nothing.

He was a total wreck, and I couldn't help myself but feel guilty. I know that it wasn't my fault; I didn't make Jean go out of the jet and save all of our skins. That was her choice. But still… seeing Scott like that, who's usually so perky and empathetic...

I sighed to myself and stepped inside the elevator, watching it close behind me. It took me down to the lower areas, opening to the metal-tiled walls of the underground hallways. I turned left, and in no time was standing in front of the Danger Room doors.

But I didn't go in at first. I stood there, watching the door as if it would speak to me. Logan was still in there, probably fighting holograms of bad guys. If I just walked in there, he might think I'm part of the program, and well… Let's just say I'd rather not get another punctured lung again, thank you.

It was then when I remembered that there was a back door to the Danger Room that lead up into the Control Room. I turned down another hall and opened the back door, relieved that it was open instead of locked, and walked up the steep metal stairway. I entered the room, quickly glancing at all the complex looking buttons, switches, and screens. At the front of the room was tinted glass looking down onto the Danger Room. Carefully, I walked towards the glass, peering down to the floor below me.

The first thing I saw was what looked like a Canadian landscape; it was snowing heavily and there was already a thick layer of the white fluffy stuff on the ground. As I took in the surroundings, it seemed very familiar to me. I spotted a familiar looking truck with a thick tree crushing the hood of the vehicle, and I thought I spotted someone in the passenger of the car. But my attention was drawn back to movement from the corner of my eye.

I leaned on the glass to get a better view, and what I saw next shocked me slightly. The movement that I saw just a moment ago was Logan being thrown across the road and hitting a tall tree with a painful cracking sound. Another moment later, Sabretooth came stalking out of the cover of the snowy trees, an angry grimace clearly on his face. Logan laid still for a couple of seconds, slumped in the snow, his breathing ragged. I even spotted some dark red spots seeping into the snow bank. My breath was caught in my throat.

I knew that the Danger Room just produced these images, and that they were nothing but figments of a computer, but they were 3D and were solid with textures. I was freaked, disturbed almost, how these images could be so realistic, so lifelike. I bit my lip and continued to watch the battle below me.

Logan lifted his head just in time to see Sabretooth grab him by his leather jacket and throw him across the road, watching him smash into the windshield of the car. I thought I heard a scream, but it was muffled by the glass. Logan wasn't moving again; his healing couldn't work that fast. I watched, horrified, as Sabretooth came closer and closer to Logan, looking this time as if he was going to finish him off.

But at the last second, Logan jumped up and spun around, kicking the blonde brute square in the face, sending him sprawling into the snow. Logan spat blood into the snow beside him and unsheathed his claws, drawing back then stabbing them into Sabretooth's chest. There was a muted roar of pain as Logan's claws sank deeply in the man's chest, and then Logan shoved his other hand into the gut of Sabretooth.

After the brute stopped moving, Logan pulled out his bloody claws and sheathed them, panting heavily. He was soaked in blood, his hair was disheveled, and his clothes were ripped and shredded. He looked back to the truck and walked towards it, still limping. He opened the passenger door and said something to the person in there, then sliced off what looked like the seatbelt. He reached in and pulled out an unconscious girl with long dark brown hair.

As I looked closer, I saw, much to my shock, that Logan was indeed holding _me. _Of course, now it all made sense. This was so familiar because it had happened to me before. To the both of us. Back up in Canada when he picked me up in that seedy bar. It wasn't the exact same way it had happened (Scott and Ororo had saved me and Logan while he was lying unconscious in the snow), but it was still surprising to see that happen all over again. And to know that Logan would have had to enter some special code to have that exact sequence happen, it made me feel not only disbelief, but also a feeling of being special.

Then the image of me being unconscious in his arms dissipated, and the snowy landscape around him following shortly after with a flicker. Before I could see anything else, I turned and ran out of Control Room, down the rickety metal stairs, and out into the circular hallways of the underground area. I paused and pressed up against the wall, noticing that my heart was racing. Great. Me and my stupid crush.

Logan was probably just practicing his own fighting skills and I just _happen_ to be a hologram in his session, but I think that he wants to practice saving me and shit. I can't _believe _myself. I groaned inwardly and lifted myself from the wall, making my way towards the elevator. _I'm pathetic,_ I thought to myself as the doors closed behind me.

They opened again once I reached the main level and I hurried out, rushing straight to my room, closing the door behind me. I flopped down face first on my bed, letting myself moan for a couple of minutes before looking up to breathe. I was such a _retard_. I shouldn't have even gone to see him. When he goes to the Danger Room, that's his own time, and what he does in his own time is none of my business. It's like if I'm in my room with the door closed. He doesn't come to spy on me. Only if he really needs to tell me something, he'll knock on my door.

I sighed and sat up, rubbing my eyes. I needed rest. My mind was obviously very messed up at the moment. I slipped my shoes off and my gloves, then snuggled under the covers, closing my eyes and letting myself drift off into the comforting darkness of sleep.

I must have been dead tired, because when I woke up, all the light from the window had disappeared, and the time on my alarm clock said 11:30. My stomach rumbled as I sat up, and I remembered that I had missed dinner. I rubbed my eyes and glanced down at myself, noticing that I was still in my clothes from earlier that day. I flopped back down on my bed, not really seeing the point of getting changed now. It was almost 11:45, now, and –

Holy shit. My swim at the lake with Logan. I almost forgot! I almost fell off the bed in excitement as I rushed over to my dresser to pull out something suitable I could use as a bathing suit. I didn't want to go in just my underwear again – I couldn't take the embarrassment in front of Logan. So I decided upon a black sports bra and some short-like underwear, as well as an oversized white t-shirt that Logan had given me a few months ago when I was sick with the cold. He never asked for it back, so… I never gave it back to him. Can you blame me? I also grabbed some lightweight gloves for protection, and slipped those on.

I slipped on my large, baggy pajama pants just for some cover, and a sweatshirt incase I got cold. Or something like that. I guess I wasn't that used to going out in barely anything. It felt so foreign to me. I put on some sandals and cursed to myself when I saw that it was already 12:05. I quietly opened my door and stepped out into the hallway. Everyone was obviously asleep, so I had to be silent as I exited the mansion.

I walked out into the cool summer night, still amazed at the beauty of the obsidian sky. I nervously jogged my way to the lake, trying to be as fast as I could. I finally arrived, spotting a dim light coming from inside the tiny wooden cabin that served as our boathouse.

I knocked on the door and a moment later, it opened, revealing Logan in just jeans. I caught myself staring and swiftly put on a shy smile, averting my eyes.

"Sorry I'm late." I said.

Logan lifted his eyebrow but stepped outside, shutting the door behind him. He still said nothing as I followed him to the edge of the lake. When we got there, he stripped out of his jeans, revealing just some black boxers, and he threw his jeans behind him. They landed at the base of a skinny tree. He then waded into the lake, diving in with a splash when he got to about waist height.

"Logan!" I hissed as he resurfaced. "Don't be so loud! Someone could hear us!"

He furrowed his brow but smirked. "Why do you care if we're heard?"

"Because I'm breaking a major rule, even for a senior student. You even said it last night that I could be in trouble for swimming. Plus," I stuck out one of my fingers as if I was counting. "We're swimming in the lake, which we're probably not allowed to do, and I'm swimming with a teacher who's more than half naked. Put that all together and hear what it sounds like." I said defiantly. I can't believe I was saying this. I was the one who wanted to swim with him in the first place. Well, he invited me, but this was the type of thing I had only dreamed of. Ugh! Me and my big mouth.

He shrugged. "No one'll hear us. C'mon." He gestured for me to come in. I sighed but gave in, and began to take off my layers of clothing, until it was just my underwear, the shirt, and my gloves on. I waded into the cold water until it was at my knees, biting my lip. The pool was _so_ much warmer than this.

"Why did you suggest the lake, may I ask? And why not the pool?" I said through clenched teeth.

Logan shrugged again. "It's nicer here. No chlorine." Ah, so it was the smell factor. Well then. "Take off your gloves." He stated softly.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"I said, take off your gloves. No one swims with gloves on."

"I swim with my gloves on, thank you very much." I said, holding my wrist and keeping my hands to my chest as if he was going to pry them off me himself. "I can't take them off, stupid. It's way too dangerous."

"I'll be careful. Now take them off." It sounded like an order.

"Logan, I can't, I don't want to hurt y—"

"Fine. I thought you wanted to go swimming." He swam back to the bank and was climbing out.

"Wait, where are you going?" I asked.

"Back to the mansion. I thought you wanted to swim." Logan said.

"I do! Just with my gloves on, that's all."

Logan just looked at me, then turned and continued his way towards the boathouse.

"Fine!" I said loudly, stripping my gloves off and throwing them at him. They land about a foot in front of me. So much for emphasis. "There, they're off. Happy now?"

He turned back around with a smirk on his face and nodded. "It'll be fine," He said, commenting on the fact that the expression on my face was probably something between anger and nervousness. "You trust me, don't you?" He was wading back into the lake now, so I followed him slowly. The water was a bit more comfortable, now that I was used to it.

"I trust you. It's just me I don't trust." I said softly, watching Logan swim out quite far. It was getting deep, and I had to stand on my tippy-toes just to keep my neck above water. "Logan," I asked, letting myself float to the surface so that I was lying on my back.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I'll ever be able to control it?" It just slipped out of my mouth. I wanted to take it back. What a stupid question to ask him. I hate how my brain works sometimes.

"Yeah." He simply replied. I sighed. "You just gotta believe in yourself. You have to _trust_ yourself."

"What if I can't? I don't want to be untouchable forever, Logan. I need to be able to… to touch people. To hold someone. Anything." Why did I always seem to spill my most inner thoughts to him? I always embarrassed myself in front of him, yet he never really cared. I'm _such_ a loser.

The splashing of his careless swimming stopped but I didn't open my eyes. I was too peaceful at the moment. His voice seemed closer too. "You can ask the Professor for help. He can find a way to—"

"But what if he doesn't?" Man, was I being pessimistic today. I sighed heavily. "Nevermind, just forget that I even mentioned this."

I think I laid there for another couple of minutes before getting cold, so I held my breath and submerged. I swam around for as long as I could until my lungs began to protest, then I burst through the crystal-like surface. I looked around for a moment, not seeing Logan anywhere. I was treading water, and I could tell that I was in a deep area.

"Logan?" I called out, searching around me. "Logan, stop, you're freaking me out." And he was. I loved swimming, but I hadn't been swimming in a while, so the more nervous I got, the worse my swimming got. "Logan!"

"Did you watch me in the Danger Room?"

I squealed like a little girl and spun around, almost sinking into the water. My limbs were beginning to tire, but I continued to hold myself up. Logan was treading right in front of me, water droplets dripping from his face. His hair, usually pointed and disheveled hair was sopping and plastered against his head. He looked different… Softer maybe? Cuter?

"W-what?" I wiped at my nose and mouth, bobbing up and down in the water.

"Did you watch me today in the Danger Room?" He repeated.

I was stuck. What if I said yes? Would he be angry? What if I said no? Would he know I was lying? I swallowed and broke eye contact.

"Y-yeah. Just in the control room. I didn't mean to, really, I just didn't know where you were and I wanted to see you 'cause I didn't see you in the morning or afternoon, and—" Great. I was rambling.

"Marie, it's fine."

"Oh." I said, snapping my mouth shut. It was quiet for another moment, when I just had to spring the question. "What… what were you doing? In the Danger Room, I mean. Because… I remembered it. But it was different… Y'know?"

I gave us a bit of room by swimming back slightly. I did not want to risk accidentally touching Logan out here. He could go unconscious, drown, and I couldn't help him, because if I touched him even more, he'd probably die. Not a good situation at all.

"You're right about the situation: It was when we were back in Laughlin City." He said, continuing to stare straight into my eyes.

"Yeah, but didn't… didn't Scott and Ororo come?" I blurted out, cocking my head slightly.

"Yeah, they did. But I programmed it so that it was just him, me, and you."

"But… why?" I asked, swallowing a small lump in my throat. "Scott and 'Ro saved our life, and without—"

"So if I was faced in the same situation again, I knew that I didn't have to rely on some pansy-ass with some red glasses to save us." He explained, letting a ghost of a smirk play across his lips.

"Oh." I said softly. I tried to smile, but it came out more like a weak grimace.

"I already lost Jean. I don't want to lose you." He said so sincerely, I almost choked. "You keep me grounded, kid." He added softly.

I swallowed and broke eye contact. I couldn't think of anything to say. I was totally speechless. I mean, sure, I was probably overreacting and putting false fantasies in my head, but still…

"I'm getting cold. Can we go inside?" It was all I could think of to get me out of this awkward conversation. I wished I could be normal around him and not so girly and embarrassed. I needed to get past this stupid schoolgirl crush I had. He liked Jean anyways, he just told me. I shivered and continued to stare at the water.

"Sure." He said in a husky voice, and turned and swam back towards the boathouse. I followed apprehensively. We climbed out and I hurriedly grabbed my clothes, wrapping myself up in the towel I brought. I was careful not to forget my gloves, and quickly slipped them on. As I gathered my clothing in my arms, I glanced up to see Logan slipping on one of his usual white wife beaters, and I couldn't stop myself from soaking up his muscular chest and arms.

As his head poked through the hole at the top of his shirt, I turned my head and walked up the slight hill, towards him and the boathouse. The light in the tiny wooden cabin was still on, so he opened the door and quickly flipped the light off, and we both made our way into the mansion silently.

We were just passing the kitchen when one of the greatest ideas ever came to me. Logan noticed that I had paused in the hallway and he stopped, looking over his shoulder. "You comin', kid?" He asked in a soft voice.

"Yeah, just give me a sec…" I whispered, shoving my sweatshirt, pants, and towel into his arms and running into the dark kitchen. I searched the cupboards for a few moments before finding a large washing pail amidst the cleaning utensils, unaware that Logan was leaning up against the doorframe, watching me with fascination. I put the bucket in the sink and turned on the tap, beginning to fill it with very cold water.

"What the hell're you doin', Marie?" He asked me, eyebrow quirked.

"Remember yesterday when we first bumped into each other, and I was soaking wet?" I reminded him, watching the water quickly fill the large pail. Logan nodded slowly. "It was 'cause Bobby poured some water on me when I was fully dressed, and I was really pissed." The water was filled up to the brim of the bucket and I heaved it out, splashing a little bit onto the ground. "Well, now it's payback."

Logan just smiled simply, shaking his head but not objecting. I couldn't deny it; Logan hated Bobby with a passion, and would probably let me stab him if I wanted to. But I didn't. Logan might not like Bobby, but I still did. He was so sweet and cute, and he was one of the nicest guys I had ever met.

Waddling out of the kitchen with the very heavy bucket of water clutched in my hands, I began to walk towards the staircase, when Logan put his hand over my two gloved ones. I looked up and saw him smirking.

"Let me take it. You're gonna spill all of it before you even get up there, anyways."

"Fine." I said, obviously not objecting to him taking the heavy pail. I hurried up the stairs with Logan close behind me, looking like he was carrying a bucket of feathers (and not spilling a drop, I had to add), and stopped when we arrived at Bobby's door.

I made the 'shh' symbol with my finger and tried the doorknob, but found it was locked, which was unusual for him. It was usually unlocked, and I knew this, because sometimes I found that I couldn't sleep and I needed some comfort when I couldn't find Logan. I frowned, but gestured for Logan to 'open' it for me.

He handed the bucket to me and then snikt, out came his middle claw. I controlled the smirk that played across my face, but smiled openly as the door creaked open. Shuffling into his room with the bucket in my hands, my eyes trained on his calm, sleeping face, I readied to pour the water all over him.

But just as I neared his bed, I saw something else move beside him. Or, more like some _one._ I froze as I saw a face snuggle up at Bobby's side, now noticing that he had a bare chest, and gasped loudly as I recognized whose face it was.

Kitty Pryde. She was _in bed with my boyfriend_. And she was goddamn _snuggling up to his side._ At first there was anger, but it quickly dispersed into pain. It just felt like my heart had been ripped into two pieces and then stomped on by cleated feet. I hadn't noticed that the heavy bucket of water had slipped from my hands and crashed onto the ground, soaking my legs and the bottom half of my still-damp t-shirt I had worn swimming with Logan.

The loud crashing and splashing sound woke both of them up, and Bobby snapped upwards, widening his eyes when he saw me standing there. Tears came to my eyes and my chin quivered.

"Rogue! I-I can explain, this—" He sputtered, throwing off the covers and jumping up. He was wearing boxers, but nothing else covered his body. Before he could come a step closer, I turned on my heel and sprinted out, pushing past Logan as tears streamed down my face. I was crying silently, not wanting to wake everyone else up, and ran into my room, slamming it behind me and locking it.

I fell onto my bed limply, crying and yelling into my pillow, trying to ignore the pounding on my door and Bobby and Kitty's voice trying to coo me out.

"Rogue, listen, we didn't do anything, it's just—"

"Yeah, Rogue, c'mon out and let's talk about this…"

I continued to block them out, not moving from the spot where I had collapsed. I think an hour passed when finally their voices disappeared and all was silent again. I fell into a deep sleep, my dreams filled with flashes of Bobby and Kitty side by side, and Logan's soft, comforting smile.


	3. Music & Cats

**Music & Cats**

"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats."

- Albert Schweitzer

**--------------------------------**

There was a light tap on my door.

"Rogue? You in there?"

Another tap, this time a little louder.

"Listen, Rogue, I'm so sorry about what happened. It just… I really didn't even mean to…"

It was Kitty, and her voice made my head flood with memories of last night. I sat up, wincing at the aches in my body and rubbing the dried salt from my eyes. She continued to blabber on and on about how sorry she was and if I came out she would explain everything, but I just continued to ignore her.

My bladder began to protest as I was sitting at my window, looking out onto the pool, and I hurried into my bathroom and urinated. Feeling a little better, I came back outside to hear, luckily, that Kitty was gone.

I sighed heavily to myself, rubbing my eyes and falling back onto my bed, staring up at the ceiling, running through the past events.

I guess now that I looked back on it, it did seem sort of obvious that Bobby was seeing Kitty. Whenever I saw Bobby, Kitty was there. It all made sense now. I closed my eyes as I felt the tears coming again. I didn't know that that was what it felt like to have my heart broken. And I knew exactly what drove Bobby to do that… It was my fucking skin. My stupid, annoying, goddamned cursed skin.

I sighed throatily and wiped my eyes, sitting up and running my fingers through my tangled hair. I needed someplace where no one could bug me or ask me if I was alright; it was obvious I wasn't and I didn't need twenty people asking me the same thing over and over again. I didn't even feel like talking to Logan, which was slightly unusual. I hope he had gutted Bobby and strangled him with his own intestines, then spat on his bloody face as he lay dying on the ground.

Oh God, I was getting violent. Yup, I definitely needed someplace peaceful where I could figure out everything and decide what to do. I sniffed and wiped my nose, and stood up, about to leave my room when I noticed I was still wearing what I had wore from last night. I grabbed some jeans and slipped them on, not bothering to change my shirt since it was dry, and remembered that Logan still had my towel, pajama pants, and sweatshirt. I would have to get those back from him later. Zipping up the fly of my jeans and pulling some long gloves on, I opened my door a crack and poked my head out to see if anyone was there. Some younger students hurriedly ran down the stairs, leaving the coast clear, and I stepped out, in bare feet, into the hallway and tiptoed my way outside.

I paused as I closed the front door, trying to decide where I would sit. It had to be out of the way and well-covered, as well as peaceful… A light bulb clicked on and I made my way towards the Professor's favourite (and only) rose garden. It was almost like a colourful maze with benches and a spectacular view and intoxicating scent. I found a seat located deep in the hedges, surrounded by bunches of red roses.

I sat down and took a deep breath, rubbing my eyes and brushing my hair back. So. Bobby had just _cheated _on me with my best friend. I let some air out that I had been holding and looked down at my swinging feet. What should I do? Ignore him and shun Kitty? Sit Bobby down and have a civil talk with him? Or maybe run up to him, slap him, scream at him for being a cheating manwhore, then run off and sob to myself? I made a groaning noise and held my face in my hands, trying to hold back tears. I had no idea what to do!

Just then, I felt something soft brush up against my leg, drawing my attention to the ground. A small tabby cat looked up expectantly at me and let out a loud meowing sound. I wiped my eyes and smiled, lowering my hand to let it sniff me. It nestled its face into my hand and purred, so I reached down and began to stroke it. The cat's spine arched each time I pet it down its back, purring quite loudly. I just had to laugh quietly to myself as I scratched behind its ears and under its chin.

I drew my hand away for a moment and in that amount of time, it jumped up onto the bench and lay down beside me, meowing as if to say, "C'mon, keep petting me." I continued to stroke it gently, but after about ten minutes, I began to hear kids shouting and laughter. I didn't feel like being around anybody, so I stood up and peeked around each corner of rose bushes, safely getting out of the colourful maze and back to the school. But just as I was about to open the front door, I heard that meowing and I looked down to see the same cat brushing up against my leg again.

"Well, aren't you the friendly one," I muttered, smiling softly and scratching it's head again. It purred loudly and I glanced up at the mansion. _Maybe it's hungry._ I wondered, looking back down at the brown and white cat. It looked up at me with its big, brown eyes as if it was pleading 'feed me!'. I bit my lip then bent down, slowly wrapping my hands around the cat's torso. It didn't protest, so I held it close and stroked it peacefully.

"C'mon, let's go get some food, huh?" I said to it, nudging its ear. Man, I had to stop referring to the cat as 'it'. It was getting tedious. I looked at the cat for a moment before deciding on a name. Frex, a name from the book 'Wicked', popped into my head and it somehow suited the cat. "Frex." I spoke his name out loud, not really even knowing if it was a guy or a girl, and carried it into the kitchen.

I sat Frex down on the floor and opened the fridge, rummaging around for some suitable cat food. I was quite pleased with myself once I found some old canned tuna in the back of a cupboard, hoping it was still okay, and opened it with a can opener, then plopped it into a small bowl. I set the bowl down on the ground where Frex trotted over to sniff it. He began to lick and eat chunks of it, and I just laughed. He reminded me of this stray Persian cat that always hung around my house – we had named it Gibbons – and I had gotten into the habit of leaving some milk out for it everyday.

I sighed, leaning on a stool while watching the cat, and closed my eyes, the pained feeling in my chest returning. I missed my home. I missed my family. I missed my real, old bed. I had been away from them for almost two years, without any means of contact. They probably didn't care about me anymore, but I ached to see them again, just once.

I opened my eyes, finding that they had watered once _again_ and glanced down at Frex. He looked innocently up at me, any trace of tuna left now in his stomach, and he meowed loudly. I had to chuckle at this, shaking my head, and picked him up again, wondering what to do.

I slowly wandered in and out of rooms, noticing that many of the students were gone (most likely out in the wonderful weather), yet happy that I didn't have to deal with anyone.

_You're gonna have to deal with someone some time or other._ A little voice in my head whispered to me. I sighed and continued walking, caressing Frex underneath his chin. I surprised myself when I found that I had roamed into the one room I had sworn I would never go into. The dreaded Piano Room. It was a small room, only big enough to hold the piano and a couch that was pressed up against the opposite wall, and a wide, ceiling-high window that let the rays of sunlight filter into the room.

I paused, staring at the large, magnificent Baby Grande Piano, admiring the beautiful ivory keys and the sheen smooth texture. I had played the piano once. When I was a normal, everyday child with not a care in the world. Memories of practicing with my mother and performing in front of family members at holidays came flashing through my mind, causing me to choke slightly. I was about to turn and just get as far away from that room as I could, when Frex leapt out of my hands and scampered into the middle of the room, leaping up and onto the black piano stool. He cocked his head at me, as if to say, "C'mon, try it. It won't bite."

My shoulders sagged and I held out my arms, not wanting to take another step into the dreadful room.

"Frex," I whistled. "C'mere, kitty." I whistled again. Frex didn't budge. His tail swung lazily from side to side. "Frex!" I cried out. But the cat did not move. He continued to stare at me. "Frex…" I whined, taking another couple of steps into the room, my hands outstretched. Just as I was about to grab him off of the stool, he dodged my hands and scampered onto the top of the piano, eyeing me mischievously.

"Damn you…" I muttered angrily, now standing right in front of the stool, looking down at the white and black keys. Frex just sat there, tail curling back and forth.

It couldn't hurt to just touch it briefly, would it? I reached over and lightly brushed my finger over Middle C. It reminded me of the very first time I had tried piano. My mother had scrounged some old music sheets from our attic and gave them to me. I learned all by myself at first, but after about a year of just practicing myself, my mother, being the proud woman she was, told me that if I wanted to continue with piano, she would have to do it herself. I had been playing ever since. Well, that is until two years ago when… when my stupid mutations manifested. I swallowed a growing lump in my throat and sat down on the bench, hunched over the keys, deciding if I should take that leap back into my past. I wondered if I could do it; if I could make that jump. But then I asked myself: _Would I ever be able to come back? _

I slipped off one glove and took a deep breath, placing it in the proper position on the piano keys, then pressed down. The loud, crisp ringing of the E note rang through out the room, echoing down the hallways and out the open window. I flinched at the loudness, but then pressed down the keys to make a chord. It felt so good!

I quickly stripped my other glove and set it down beside me, placing it on the correct starting stance. Smiling to myself, I tried to remember a certain Beethoven song (the name of it escaped me at that time) that I had memorized when I was thirteen. There was a Christmas concert at my school and I was specially asked to perform. Searching into my past, I rekindled the notes I once knew and let my hands slide up and down the length of the keys, letting out the years of remorse and pain that I had held inside me since I had left my family.

I was sure I had made mistakes – I mean, it had been two years – but other than that, I felt simply ecstatic. All thoughts of Bobby and Kitty left my mind as I let the beautiful music wash over me like a security blanket. As I surrounded myself with happy thoughts of my home, I didn't notice Logan walk up and lean against the Piano Room doorway.

"I didn't know you played piano." He stated simply, watching me curiously.

I let out a frantic yelp, jumping on the bench and hurriedly pulling my hands away from the piano keys, messing up the chord I was supposed to do and making it sound like someone just died. I placed my hand over my heart, feeling the rushed beat.

"Jesus, Logan! You scared me!" I cried out, giving him an incredulous stare. He, as usual, just smirked at me.

"Whose cat is that?" Logan asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Oh," I said, looking up at the tabby cat. "His name's Frex." Logan gave me an "Alrighty-then" stare, but pushed himself up off the doorframe and walked in, his arms crossed. He made his way towards me and began to sit down on the bench, when I hurriedly reached for my gloves and started to pull them on. But before I could even pull one of them halfway up my arm, his hand gripped my covered upper arm, stopping me in mid-pull.

"It's okay, don't. You play better without them, don't you?" He asked, gesturing towards the keys. I nodded but said nothing, too nervous about how close my skin was to his. "Keep playin'. You're good." Logan smiled slightly.

"I-I don't r-really remember anything else." I stuttered, keeping my eyes trained on my hands so that they wouldn't come into contact with Logan's arm.

"Then just keep playin' that one." Logan suggested.

"I… No, I shouldn't even be here, the Professor—"

"Fuck the Professor. If you wanna play, then play." Logan interrupted.

"No, Logan, I really can't…" I whispered, almost to myself.

Logan sighed and rubbed his eyes. I kept my head down as if I was just caught sticking my hand into the cookie jar. "Kid, if this is about what happened last night, then—"

"Logan, stop…" I mumbled, not wanting to go into detail about Bobby and Kitty. But it seemed as if Logan wasn't going to give up.

"No. You're not getting out of it that easily." He was facing me fully now, staring down at me with his piercing amber gaze. "You can't keep it there forever, Marie. You've got to let it out." He gave me a light squeeze on my shoulder. "C'mon, you know you can tell me anything." I still didn't look up, knowing if I did, I would cry. Although, I would most likely come out of this with tears in my eyes. There was no escaping it.

"I just didn't think that… that Bobby would do that. A-and especially with Kitty. I… I don't know Logan, it just hurts." I tried to stop them, but when I blinked, the water that was brimming my eyes fell and ran down my cheeks and onto the keys of the piano. My hands traveled to my face as I hunched over the piano, sobbing. But I wasn't just crying for what Bobby did to me… I was crying for my parents. I had never felt this homesick before, and at the moment, I actually felt like was going to be physically sick.

I swallowed a few times, trying to get the feeling to pass, and that's when I noticed that during some time that I had been weeping, Logan had drawn me close and was holding me against his chest. But somehow, it didn't feel as good as it usually did. Normally, I would be elated to be held by him; all my fears, suspicions, sadness, and hatred would disappear. But right now, I still felt empty. There was something inside of me that Logan could not fill, and it was killing me.

For the first time ever, I pulled away from the embrace, wiping at my eyes.

"You didn't… you didn't _do_ anything to Bobby, did you?" I asked slowly looking up at him through my white streaks.

"What, like hurt him?"

"Yeah."

"No."

I sighed inwardly. Although I was thoroughly pissed at him, and earlier I would have _loved_ if Logan had ripped him to pieces, I was slightly relieved that Logan hadn't interfered. This was something I had to deal with by myself.

"I didn't do anything 'cause I knew that you wouldn't have wanted me to." He said. I gave him a small, sullen but grateful smile. "I glared at him, though." He added quietly, smiling back.

"I bet that glare burnt a hole straight through him." I murmured jokingly. It sounded as if he let out a soft chuckle, but it could've just been some air passing quickly out his nose. We were silent for a while, just sitting, thinking silently. But then he spoke up, shifting on the bench.

"Sometimes life throws you a curveball, kid." He said, putting one hand on my shoulder. He was extremely comforting today, which was rare, and it helped a bit. It was always nice to have someone there to listen. "That's when you pull out the curved bat." He added with a sympathetic smirk.

"W-what?" I said with a mix between a chuckle and a sniff. I didn't really understand what he was getting at, but it sounded funny.

He repositioned himself on the bench so that he was sort of straddling it, and by that I meant that he was sitting with both legs on either side of the bench instead of both in front, facing the piano. "Life's a bitch. And when it comes and bites you on the ass, you gotta turn around and give it a good smack. You have to make a counter move, Marie." He paused, trying to catch my eyes. "You get what I'm tryin' to say?"

I wiped my eyes with the base of my hand and nodded slowly. "Y-yeah. I guess." He lifted his hands from my shoulders, but not before tucking one of my white streaks behind my ear.

"Just focus on something else for a while. Eventually, the feelings'll pass." He gave me a very small smile, almost a ghost of a smile, and using his finger that was covered by the cuff of his long shirt, he pushed my chin up so that we were looking at each other again. "Cheer up, kid. I hate seein' you like this." I nodded as he stood up, backing off of the piano bench and slipping his hands into the pockets of his jeans, then turning and moving towards the exit. Wow, he was _really_ consoling today. All the considerate words and little shows of affection.

"Oh," He said, turning just before he left. "I've got some of your… stuff." He said, gesturing with a nod of his head out of the room, most likely towards his room.

"'Kay. I'll come pick it up after dinner." I agreed. Logan then turned and left, disappearing down the hallway and out of sight.

I bit the inside of my cheek and let some air out through my nose, glancing back at the piano. I glanced upwards, but to my surprise, I found that Frex had disappeared. I frowned and looked around to see if he was sitting anywhere else in the room, but he was actually gone.

"Frex?" I asked hoarsely, looking at the couch, then to the window, then to the door again. "Frex, where are you?"

I quickly slipped my gloves on then stood up, leaving the Piano Room and walking out into the main hallway. Seeing as that I couldn't find him, I had guessed that he had run off during my sob scene with Logan. I sighed heavily and finally came to my room, collapsing on my bed in a huff. I closed my eyes and began to think.

I was still miserable from the Bobby/Kitty incident, but playing the piano, being with Frex, and Logan's consoling helped. But I still felt that emptiness, a dull pain in my chest, that wouldn't go away. Logan's words about 'curveballs' and 'counter moves' echoed in the back of my mind, and I focused on the curveball that had just been thrown at me. Bobby had been with Kitty for some amount of time; how long, well, I was obviously unaware of that. I found them in _Bobby's_ bed, _together_. Sure, they weren't completely naked, but they're 17 – almost 18 – year old teenagers, and when you find that happening, you know they're not completely innocent.

Finding myself becoming even more depressed by thinking of them together (_Why didn't Bobby just tell me that he wanted to see someone else? Why did he hide it behind his back? Ugh, stupid boys._), I then tried focusing on what my counter move would be – my curved bat. I wanted it to be drastic enough so that Bobby and Kitty would get the point that I was pissed and miserable at them both, but nothing over the top. I couldn't really go any place else. I mean, it's not like I could go back home, right? And whenever I found myself in a bad mood, I would go to my friends. Sadly, my friends were the cause of my pain.

I let out a stream of breath through my mouth and thought hard and deep for a while. I needed a break from the mansion; I had been here for almost two years (coming up to three) and I felt like I needed some breathing space. School wouldn't start up for another two months or so, and summer just frustrated the hell outta me, so maybe taking a trip would be nice.

Just then, I knew what I wanted to do. I sat up swiftly, opening my eyes, and smiled softly. I knew what my curved bat was going to be.


	4. There's No Place Like Home

**Going Home**

"What is more agreeable than one's home?"

- Marcus Tullius Cicero

**-------------------------------------------------**

"You're going _where_?" Logan asked me, sounding obviously shocked, if not slightly skeptical.

"_Home_, you big dummy." I answered, a huge grin plastering my face.

"When?"

We had been playing a game of pool when I had sprung my idea on him, and from then on, the game looked like it was going to have to be paused.

I smiled sheepishly. "I… uh, I haven't really asked the Professor yet." Logan raised his eyebrow at me. "But I think he'll let me!" I added quickly. He shrugged and turned back to the pool table, aiming the white ball at a red striped one. He shot and got it in. I sighed but continued. "I wanna go and have enough time to see them and do some stuff with them, but be back in time to finish the summer break."

"Kid, I don't want to be a downer, but… what if they, y'know, reject ya or somethin'?" He said, glancing up at me from shooting at another pool ball, obviously getting that one in as well.

My stomach shrank slightly, but I shook the feeling away and shrugged. "If slam the door in my face, then they do. I'll come back, but at least I know they're there. At least I know they're safe…" Logan grunted in approval and shot at another ball, but it missed by an inch and hit the corner, bouncing off and traveling half way down the table.

I took my chance and bent down, closing one eye and trying to aim my pool stick properly, balancing the front of it between my two fingers. I sucked at pool, but hey, I tried. As I was about to take a shot, Logan, shifting his weight from one foot to another, spoke up.

"Iceprick's lookin' for you." He said quietly with a smirk on his face. I shot, missed, and brushed the side of the solid purple ball, making it spin off and go in the opposite direction. I bit back the growl that was about to bubble through my lips, wanting to hurt Logan for making me miss my shot, but then there was someone calling my name.

"Rogue? Rogue, you here?" Bobby's voice rang throughout the hallways a moment later. I glanced at Logan, raising my eyebrow. He smiled and shrugged as if to say, 'Hey, don't blame me for my super-amazing abilities to detect people before anyone else'. "Rogue?" He called out again. I bit my lip and smiled, devising a little plan of mine to make Bobby a little jealous. Just something to get back at him before I ran off to my home.

"Logan, would you help me with this shot? I just can't seem to hit the damn ball." I said with the sweetest smile I could muster. I even batted my eyelashes a few times.

He knew exactly what I was doing, but he didn't object, thankfully, and only smiled back.

"Sure thing, darlin'."

He set his cue stick against the wall and sauntered over, then bent over me, surrounding my shoulders with his arms, placing his hands over mine. I smiled to myself, enjoying every moment of Logan's warm, well-muscled body against mine. I told myself not to enjoy it too much, since he _was_ only helping me get back at Bobby.

"See, you're doin' this all wrong…" He said softly, breathing into my ear. I suppressed a shiver. "Balance the cue like this," He shifted my fingers and then put the cue in between them. "Then bring it in closer over here." He moved his arm so that it was just near my waist, and brought my gloved arm in closer towards me. Just as he was doing so, Bobby Drake walked in, eyes widening the moment he saw us.

I had to say, his expression was priceless. First shock, then disgust, and then jealously. After those emotions, he tried to hide it by putting on a neutral, if not slightly taken-aback façade.

"Rogue?" He squeaked, then cleared his throat.

I looked up hurriedly as if I was surprised by his sudden appearance, and, just as I had hoped, Logan didn't move from his hovering position over me.

"Oh, hey Bobby." I said sweetly.

"W-what're you doing?" He asked me suspiciously.

"Playing pool." I drawled. "Well, actually, Logan's _teaching_ me. I can't hit a ball to save my life." I corrected myself, letting out a giddy chuckle. I stood up slightly, letting Logan know that he could take a step back now. He did. "Did you want something, Bobby?" I asked innocently.

"Well, I – uh, I sorta wanted to talk to you." He said, glancing over at Logan and shooting sparks of hatred towards him. Logan stared at him right back, silent and controlled, until Bobby lost his confidence and broke his eye contact to look back at me.

I glanced up at the clock on the wall and drew a sharp intake of breath. "Oh man, I'm sorry Bobby, but I've got to go talk to the Professor. I'm already late!" I made my way over to the pool rack and placed my cue in one of the holders, then looked sadly at Bobby.

He paused. "What for?"

"To ask him if I can go visit my parents." I answered him bluntly. He looked even more taken-aback. He opened his mouth to say something, but I quickly cut him off. "Listen, I'll talk to you tonight at dinner, 'kay? We'll _both_ explain everything." I made sure to exaggerate 'both' since I wasn't the only one who had to spill the beans, and made sure to put on a serious face. I meant business. Bobby was in for some good lecturing, I was sure about that.

"I… Okay." He said with a sigh, then turned and walked out of the Games Room with a definite slump to his shoulders. I turned back to Logan and gave him a big smile.

"You're harsh." He said after a moment with a smirk.

"I know." I said with a devilish grin. "But he deserves it."

"Where'd all the depression and sadness go, anyway?" He asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

I smiled slightly shrugged. "I kissed it goodbye last night. Now it's only self-fulfillment and… well, I guess revenge."

He shook his head and glanced up at the clock. "So that Professor thing was that just something to get him off your back?"

"No, I had actually asked him if I could talk to him. I didn't say what, though." I said, tugging my shirt down and making my way towards the exit. "See ya later, Logan." I said, giving him a small wave and moving through the doorway. I paused and hurriedly backtracked, poking my head back into the room. He was already leaned back over the table, aiming another shot. "Oh, and thanks." I added quietly, sincerely. I smiled and he returned it, nodding his head.

"Yer welcome, kid."

The thanks was not only for helping me out with Bobby in the Games Room, but for just being there, for comforting me yesterday. And pretty much everything else he had done, too. I continued walking, with my shoulders straight and my head up, towards Xavier's office. Just as I neared his office door, that's when I began to feel the butterflies in my stomach. I stopped at the closed door and closed my eyes, taking in a few deep breathes before raising my hand to knock.

"You may enter, Rogue." The smooth and collected voice of Professor Xavier floated through the door, causing me to jump slightly. I cleared my throat and opened the door, stepping in and then closing it behind me. I flashed a nervous smile at the Professor then hurriedly sat down at the chair that was pulled out in front of his desk.

"You said you wanted to see me, Rogue?" He asked, entwining his fingers and leaning over his desk.

"Yeah. Y'see, Professor, there's this thing I've been wanting to do for a while now…"

**--------------------------------------------------**

I closed the door to Xavier's office and walked out into the hall, turning the corner with my lips sealed tightly against each other. As soon as I was out of hearing-range, I stopped, looking around to see if anyone was watching, then jumped up and let out a squeal of joy. He had allowed me to go! I was so excited! I would finally see my parents and get a good follow up of the past two years that I had missed out on. Oh my God, there'd be so much to talk about! Like how our neighbours were, and what my friends were doing now, and… how David was. Now that'd be an interesting topic… But I'd get to see—

"I'm guessin' that Chuck said 'yes'?" Logan's voice interrupted my thoughts.

I jumped slightly from his suddenness, heart still beating wildly. I hated it when he did that. "Jesus, Logan, please stop sneakin' up on me like that!" He smirked but I grinned back. "Yeah… He's letting me. I'm scheduled to leave tomorrow afternoon."

"So soon?"

"Yeah, well, I told him I wanted to leave as soon as possible. I told him I was having some personal problems that I needed some time from." I purposefully left out the part where the Professor explained to me that I shouldn't run from my problems, since it was so alike Logan. I continued, clearing my throat. "I'm just so…"

"Ecstatic?" Logan finished my sentence. I nodded.

"Yeah. I mean, after two years…" I sighed, my gaze drifting off into the past. I blinked and returned my attention back to Logan. "But I have to take a plane over." I added begrudgingly.

"What's so bad about that?" He asked, crossing his arms across his chest and leaning against the wall.

I sat down on a bench that was pressed up against the wood paneled wall, positioned beside him. "Well, firstly, I'm still a little freaked out from flying, since what happened on the Black Bird…" I stopped there, knowing that it would bring painful memories for Logan. I glanced up at him to see if his expression changed. It didn't even flinch, and I mentally congratulated him for it. "Plus, I wanted to drive down, y'know, go for a short road trip. Do some sight-seeing."

He looked down at me, quirking his eyebrow. "You can drive?" Logan asked me skeptically.

I looked up at him and gave him a 'are-you-kidding-me' look, then said, "Uh, yeah? I got my driver's license last year the day after my birthday!" I paused, raising my own eyebrow at him. "You _do_ know how old I am, don't you?"

"Fifteen…?" He guessed, trying to make it sound legitimate.

I gawked. Did I still look the same as when he found me? Or did he honestly have no idea? I reached out and gave him a light slap on his arm. "I'm seventeen! I had my birthday in April!" I cried out, hiding my smile.

He chuckled. "Sorry. I'm not good with people's age. I don't even know mine myself, so ya can't blame me."

"Ugh, bastard…" I muttered, shaking my head. I stood up, pondering what to do next. "What time is it?" I asked Logan, remembering the 'meeting' at dinner with Bobby.

"Five-thirty. Why?"

"Bobby, remember?" I said, speaking his name as if it were a bad taste in my mouth.

"Oh, yeah, right." He said, nodding while looking down at his shoes.

"Well, I'd better get going. I think this will be a _long_ discussion." He nodded and lifted himself off the wall, striding down the hallway towards the TV Room. "I'll talk to you tomorrow when I leave. See ya then!" I called after him. He replied with a friendly, nonchalant grunt, and then I made my way towards the cafeteria.

Students were just beginning to file in, many of them chattering away at each other, laughing, whispering, joking. I peered over the rows of tables in search of either Bobby or Kitty, but found neither. Sighing, I fell in line and grabbed a sandwich and a drink, and then sat down at an empty table. I pried the cellophane off of the ham sandwich and nibbled at it, but set it down, finding myself not hungry at all.

I guess I was lost in thought, because Colossus sat down across the table, surprising and making me jump slightly.

"Hello, Rogue." He said cheerfully in his slight Russian accent, digging his fork into tonight's spaghetti.

"Hey, Pete." I answered glumly, poking at the sandwich.

"What's the matter?" He asked. That's what I loved about him. He was so… peaceful, so kind, and sometimes even… oblivious to things. He was borderline six foot five, huge, and on the edge of intimidating, but his personality did not match his looks at all. The best description for him would most likely be a great big teddy bear. He cared for everyone and helped out too.

I smiled, looking up at him as he wiped some sauce from his chin. "Well, y'know…" He gave no sign that he _knew_ anything about what had just happened between my ex-boyfriend and me. "Bobby?" She reminded him. Maybe word hadn't got out about what had happened…

"Oh, yeah." He took a sip of his water. "I heard about that. Jubilee told me."

Shit. Okay, well, maybe not all of the details got out.

"You caught him with Kitty, right? In his own bed?" He asked, sounding so innocent I just couldn't be mad at him. I sighed heavily, holding my head in my hands.

"Yeah. Pretty much." I muttered, wondering when Bobby would show up. I sighed heavily, looking up through my disheveled hair. "Have you seen him lately, by chance?" I asked, trying not to sound impatient.

He chewed silently for a minute, and then said, "Well, last time I saw him was about half an hour ago. He was in the library with Kitty." He shrugged. "They should be coming soon."

I grunted, running my fingers through my hair. I sat with Poitr the whole time it took for him to finish his dinner, talking about school and other unimportant things, until almost all of the students seemed to disperse out of the cafeteria. Pete's plate and leftover food was already dumped in the garbage can, and had promised to stay with me until Bobby showed up.

I glanced up at the clock for the twentieth time, sighing tiredly. It was already seven o'clock, and the cooks were beginning to clean up.

"Son of a bitch…" I muttered under my breath, sitting up. He was _so_ going to pay.

"Where are you going?" Poitr asked,

"I'm going to go find Bobby and beat the living daylights out of him…" I said between clenched teeth, standing up and marching towards the exit. I heard him come jogging after me, then match my stride, but I didn't care. He could watch me terrorize that little prick. Hell, the whole _mansion_ could watch me tear him apart. And if I caught him with Kitty anywhere _near_ him, I swear to God, I'd…

We had reached the library where Pete said he had seen them last, and I froze in my tracks. They were sitting together at a table, talking. As if everything was perfect. I felt my whole body tense up and my gaze turned to fire.

I stepped into the library, stomping my way across the large room straight to him, as he looked up. His expression was undeniable; it was shock mixed with fear. It only drove me faster. He stood up quickly, coming towards me.

"Rogue, I'm sorry, I—"

I put my hands on his chest and shoved him backwards, sending him toppling over his chair and onto the ground. Almost everybody in the library looked up in horror.

"You bastard!" I cried out. "I can't _believe_ you! You egotistical, inconsiderate, piece of _shit_!" Some students began to get up silently and leave, not wanting to get involved with the quarrel.

"Listen, Rogue, I—"

"No! You just shut up!" I screamed again, feeling my eyes burn with tears. "You cheat on me with my best friend, then don't show up at dinner when we were supposed to work this mess _out_? Don't tell me to goddamn listen to you after what you've done!"

"Rogue! Stop!" Kitty exclaimed, jumping up to help Bobby.

Tears were streaming down my face now, and there were so much I could barely see. "And you! You don't even deserve to be called a _friend_! You're just a backstabbing _bitch_!" I screamed, feeling my knees begin to buckle. Just then, I felt someone's strong, large hands on my shoulders, trying to pull me away. I jerked away, slapping Colossus's hands off of me, then turned and sprinted out of the library and around the corner.

I blindly ran towards the staircase, when I collided into someone. Before I fell, two hands grab my glove-covered arms and pulled me up. I tried to pull away, slapping and even kicking a few times, but the grip was relentless.

"Let me go!" I cried out, squirming.

"Marie!" It was Logan. I opened my teary eyes and blinked a few times before focusing on him. "What's the matter?"

I jerked one more time and he let go. "It's Bobby. H-he didn't show up at dinner and… and…" I could barely speak, I was so infuriated. Plus the tears were coming back. I collapsed into his open arms, sobbing. "I hate him, I hate him so much, Logan…" I wailed.

He said nothing, but just stroked my hair gently, being careful not to touch any skin. I finally pulled away, noticing I had soaked through his white wife beater with my tears, and wiped at my eyes with the back of my hands. I made a move to go around him and run up the stairs, but he caught me just in time again, making me look up at his soft gaze.

"You want me to do somethin' about this?" He asked me in his gruff, yet comforting voice.

Usually I would have said 'no', and told him to stay out of it, but at the moment, I really didn't care if Logan ripped Bobby to pieces or not. I shrugged, wiping my eyes again.

"I don't care. Just… just leave me alone." I sniffed. "I have to go pack…" I muttered, knowing that it was a lame excuse. He sighed quietly but let go.

"'Kay." He said as I began my long trek up the staircase. "Just make sure I see you before ya leave tomorrow." I nodded absentmindedly, continuing up the stairs. I felt his gaze on me the whole time until I was out of sight and down the corridor.

I opened the door to my room, closing it and locking it after me, then sunk to the floor in front of my closet. I needed to pack, but I felt miserable at the moment, and didn't feel like doing anything. After some time of just sitting there, I finally took the initiative to grab a duffle bag and begin stuffing it with articles of clothing. I sighed as I threw it to the ground, knowing fully well that I would have to redo it in the morning, and collapsed onto my bed.

I drifted in and out of sleep, my mind finding it difficult to organize my thoughts about the recent events including Bobby and Kitty, leaving me to ponder about the trip back to my home. Back to Meridian, Mississippi.


	5. A Change of Plan

**A Change of Plan**

_I'm sorry to all of you eagerly awaiting the next chapter that I haven't updated sooner! This past week was my exam week, and I had some major studying to do to make sure I wouldn't fail some courses (coughMATHcough). I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting, and please don't think I've given up on the story, because I haven't. It's much too early for that!_

_Okay, so this is the first sort of Author's note, as I'll be calling it, and it's mainly to answer questions, explain things, or tell you, the reader, anything that needs telling. So, first off, I'd like to thank all the people who comment on the story, and even on each chapter (you know who you are). Those reviews really keep me going, and without them, I would have no motivation. (Jeez, it sounds like I've just won an award for God's sake)_

_**I also would like to let you know, that from July 15**__**th**__** to September 30**__**th**__**, I will be on an exchange to Australia (I live in Canada, and traveling all the way to the other side of the world is making me really excited!) for two and a half months. I'm bringing my laptop, but the house I'm staying in won't have wireless Internet, so it will be hard for me to update regularly. I will continue to write and most likely get a good number of chapters written, but most likely be unable to actually put them up on the website. Please forgive me, and please continue checking from that time to see if I've been able to update the chapters!**_

_With reading the recent reviews, I noticed many of you wanted Logan to drive Marie down to Meridian. At first, I had actually planned on Rogue flying solo back home, but thanks to my imaginative mind (and your pressuring comments), I was able to put the two ideas together. _

_Jeez, I'm really keeping you from the actual story, so I'm gonna let you go now. By the way, my Author Notes for the up and coming chapters will not be this long, I swear to you. This is just to tell you readers some stuff that has been and will be happening. Thanks for reading, keep checking up on the story for updates, and keep up the reviews! _

_xRogan_

**----------------------------------------------**

"Map out your future - but do it in pencil. The road ahead is as long as you make it. Make it worth the trip."

- Bon Jovi

**----------------------------------------------**

I was correct in my assumptions about packing last night; I had to re-pack my whole bag with new clothes. My flight was at 11:30, and with all the customs you had to go through now, you had to get there at least two hours before to be safe. I had woken up at about 7:00 and was ready to sleep almost anywhere, and had grabbed a quick bite to eat before readying to leave

It was about 9:00 at the moment, and I was waiting at the front door since Ororo said she'd take me, when Logan came striding down the hallway, a large bag slung over his shoulder. I stood up from my sitting position and gave him a questioning look.

"I'm takin' ya." He said before I could even open my mouth. I shrugged and heaved my duffel bag up onto my shoulder, then opened the front door, holding it for Logan.

"Ladies first." I gestured with my open hand for him to go through the open door, smirking, but he just raised his eyebrow, smirking as well.

"I don't think so, kid." He playfully kicked me on my butt, making me yelp and scurry outside.

There were two cars parked in the driveway; Scott's blue Mazda and a red Ford pickup truck. I made a beeline for the Mazda, since it was the car that we used the most, when I heard Logan calling out to me.

"We're takin' this one, Marie."

I looked over my shoulder, and watched as Logan threw his backpack into the back of the truck. I shrugged and copied him by chucking my duffel bag into the open trunk, then climbing into the passenger seat, remembering to fasten my seatbelt.

"When did the school get this ol' thing?" I asked, nodding towards the windshield.

He turned the keys, which ignited the engine, letting it roar to life. He squealed out of the driveway and smiled. "I bought it."

"Oh." I said, trying to hide my surprise. "It's… nice."

He looked over at me and gave me a very small smile. "This sounds like our first meetin' in Laughlin City, don't it?"

I smiled back at him. "Sure does. You gonna ask me if I prefer the road?"

"Only if ya keep botherin' me." He winked and I blushed for no reason at all. I guess I hadn't really seen Logan wink in a while, and it made me feel really special. Oh God, there was that stupid crush again. I inhaled deeply and rolled down the window, watching the blurred landscape pass by. After about twenty minutes, I noticed we were nowhere near the airport. I looked around, then to Logan, then back to outside the window.

"Um… Logan?" I asked, looking over at him.

"Yeah?"

"The airport's that way, isn't it?" I asked, jerking my thumb behind me.

"We're not goin' to the airport, darlin'."

I gawked. Woah, wait a sec. If we weren't going to the airport, then where were we going?

"Uh, where are we going then?" I asked, completely confused.

"To see yer parents." He glanced over at me then returned his gaze back to the road. "I thought that's what you wanted to do."

"But I was, um, I was supposed to take a plane over."

"I talked to Chuck – he said that it'd be okay if I drove ya." Logan answered matter-of-factly. "We already exchanged your ticket. It's okay," He said, looking over at me. He gave me a smile, so I must have had some stricken looking expression. "Everything's planned out."

"I-I know, it's just…" I stuttered, fiddling with my gloves. I finally looked up and met his amber eyes, putting on a nervous smile. "You're not the type of guy that you'd wanna bring home to Mum and Dad."

Logan raised his eyebrow at this, switching his gaze to the windshield. "Whaddya mean?"

"Well, I mean, look atcha, Logan. You _look _almost twice my age, even though you're probably quadrupled it, you're big, you're scruffy, and your personality, when edgy, is as about as nice as a feral pitbull." I explained, giggling after at his expression.

"So?" He said after a moment.

I burst out laughing. "_So_, parents, who are extremely protective of their children, might seem a little nervous seeing that their daughter's being looked over that type of guy." I sighed. "To them and to all the other people that see us together, might think that you're irresponsible and stuff, even though I _know_ you're not." I reached over with my gloved hand and gave him a pat on his arm. "I know that you're the_ most_ responsible and _most_ protective person out there."

He shook his head slightly, hiding the smile that twitched at his lips. "Yer crazy, kid."

I rolled my eyes and let my arm hang out the window. "Ugh, just you wait. You'll see that surprised and suspicious expression as soon as they open the door."

**------------------------------------------------**

We had been riding for about four hours straight, and it was when my stomach growled Logan suggested we pull over for some lunch. The first place we found was a homey looking restaurant, and the people inside seemed nice enough, so we took a seat by a large window (with a beautiful scene of the highway, I had to add), and waited for the waitress to stop by our table.

"So," Logan said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his burly arms in front of his chest. I stared at his large, muscular biceps before tearing my gaze off his arms to his intense amber eyes. "Two years, you said? Since you've last seen 'em?"

I nodded, resting my arms on the table. "Two years, no contact whatsoever. Hopefully they haven't moved or anything…" I added as an afterthought.

"And if they have?" He asked, concentrating on me.

"Well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there." I shrugged. "I mean, how hard could it be to find my family in—"

"Good afternoon, I'm Sheri, you're waitress for today! Can I start you two off with a drink?" A blonde young lady with large blue eyes and bright red lipstick interrupted. I looked up at her and gave her an annoyed look, but found she was more interested in Logan. My blood began to boil.

"Beer." Logan said in his usual friendly tone. The waitress nodded and glanced over at me.

"Uh, diet Coke, please." I answered sourly. 'Sheri' didn't seem to notice and nodded at me, then smiled at Logan.

"Comin' right up. Here are your menus." She carefully gave Logan his and more or less dropped mine onto the table, and then left in a hurry.

I paused, looking down at the menu, then up at Logan, looking skeptical. He just smirked. I sighed, and continued, grabbing the laminated menu and scanning it briefly. "As I was saying, before Miss Blondie so kindly interrupted, it wouldn't be that hard to find my parents in Meridian. If worst comes to worst, I can go to some old neighbours or friends or something."

Logan nodded as he inspected his own menu. There was a moment of silence as we both searched for something we wanted for lunch, when Sheri came up again, holding Logan's beer and my diet Coke. She set them down in front of us, spilling some of mine but not seeing since she was so focused on Logan, then drew out her notepad.

"You guys ready to order?" She asked, smiling sweetly.

Logan answered 'yes' at the same time I answered 'no', but I sighed and quickly picked out the easiest thing.

"Burger and fries." He said, folding up his menu and pushing it aside. He looked at me expectantly.

"Chicken strips, please." I stated in a huff, pushing my menu aside as well, but with a little more force.

Sheri finished jotting it down, smiled, grabbed the menus, then hurried off to the back once again. I rubbed my temples and then wiped up the spilled drink, taking a long sip before setting it down in front of me.

"She seems to have taken an interest in you." I said smugly, looking up at Logan.

"I ain't interested." He answered back swiftly. I shrugged and took another sip of my diet Coke as he downed half of his beer. "All I'm interested in is gettin' my food and gettin' the hell outta here." He smirked and I rolled my eyes playfully. Folding my hands together and leaning back over the table, I gave him a questioning look.

"What're you gonna do, y'know, once we get down there?" I asked, twisting the straw between my fingers. "'Cause it might be sorta boring if you just hang around my family. It'll be mainly catch up and stuff."

He shrugged. "Might go and do some stuff."

"Like…?" I prodded.

He shrugged. Then Sheri practically came skipping back to the table, Logan's burger and my strips balanced precariously in each hand. She set them down with a big smile on her face, bending down a little more necessary than needed to expose her cleavage off to Logan, then snapped back up. I swore those lower buttons were done up when she had brought us our drinks…

"Enjoy!" She said, her voice making me sick. Just as she was turning, she winked at him and hurried off around the corner.

I looked at my chicken strips with distaste, wondering if she spat in it or something. Logan grabbed his burger, once again, oblivious to anything going on around him, and took a large bite out of it, chewing silently.

"You gonna eat?" He asked, nodding towards the untouched basket of chicken and fries.

"I'm not hungry…" I muttered, grabbing my Coke and taking long gulps of it to distract my mouth from saying anything regrettable or embarrassing. He rolled his eyes and took a quick sip of his beer, then diving back into his meal.

"You're jealous." He said after a few moments, his bright eyes prodding me to look up. I peeked up over the lip of my glass and met his eyes skeptically.

"What?" I asked, quirking my eyebrow. He chewed quietly for a second, smirking, enjoying the suspense he put me through. "Jealous of _what_?" I asked again. "Of _her_? Of _Sheri_?"

He swallowed, still smirking, and leaned forward, crossing his fingers together on the table. "You're jealous of her flirting."

"_What_?" I cried out, sitting up quickly, almost knocking my diet Coke off the table with the swinging motion of my arms. I caught it just as it was tipping, and slammed it as quietly as I could back onto the firm surface. A few people not too far off in their own separate booths stole a glance in our direction, but I glared them away, making them turn back to their meal.

"I said that you're jealous of her flirting." I stared at him incredulously, feeling the urge to laugh.

Me? Jealous of the waitress's flirtation with _Logan_? Ha! I wasn't jealous of _that_. Hell, I wasn't really even jealous! I was just annoyed. For a reason, I could assure you, I just wasn't sure of what, exactly, I was frustrated with. I sighed inwardly, excepting it. Logan was right. I was jealous. _But why?_ I asked myself, feeling my face turn pink. My silence answered his observation, and he smiled, finishing the last of his beer.

"Y'know, you can flirt with me." He said, his voice low and gravelly. His finger was circling the lip of his empty beer bottle. My eyes widened and I opened my mouth to ask him to repeat what he just said, or if it was just my mind dreaming again. "I wouldn't mind. You could… practice, or whatever. For other guys. Since…" He trailed off, noticing he had hit a sensitive subject. But his voice was calm and collected, he didn't sound nervous, so that meant he wasn't serious. This was obviously a joke. Wasn't it?

"Logan," I began, hiding a smirk. I was going to be mature about this. No gawking, no childish blushing, and awkward silences, just sensible and mature teasing. "The only reason you'd let me flirt with you is because you're a womanizer." I winked. "You haven't been gettin' any action lately, so you're ready to take whatever you can get."

It was his turn to raise his eyebrow, but he continued smirking, so my little teases were okay. I think. "Is that so?" He asked, his eyes locked with mine. I nodded, smiling mischievously. "Well, since you're not opposing the idea, it'd be okay to do this…" Just then, I felt his foot brushing up against my leg, slowly rising upwards, stroking. I heard myself take a sharp inhalation of breath and I flinched at the shivering feeling, and the foot caresses stopped suddenly.

"I'm sorry…" He muttered, his face looking shameful. It was as if his whole body had recoiled, and he was ashamed. I opened my mouth and moved my gloved hand across the table to console him, to tell him that I didn't mind, and what I did was uncontrollable, but at that moment, Sheri interrupted. I swear to God I was going to slit that girl's throat if she came anywhere near me again.

"How're you guys doin'?" She asked happily, totally oblivious to either of our emotions. She was still mainly staring at Logan, who was still looking guilty, as if he had committed a horrible sin. Jeez, I didn't know my feelings meant so much to him.

"Bill." He answered directly and sharply. Sensing that something between the two of us had turned sour, she fished deep into her pocket and pulled it out, as if she had had it all along. Sheri placed it on the counter and Logan pulled out a couple of bills, not even glancing at the check lying in front of him. He dropped them on the table and stood up quickly, marching off towards the exit. I stared at him for a moment, confused. Why was he so… worked up about this?

"Thanks…'" I muttered. "Do you think I could get this packaged up?" I asked, gesturing towards the chicken strips and fries. I had a feeling I _would_ be hungry later. Sheri nodded and hurried off while I slipped out of the booth. She came back in a matter of seconds and quickly transferred my untouched meal into a Styrofoam case, then handed it to me. "Thank you." I said again, watching her walk off to some other tables. Clutching my meal, I followed Logan outside, and saw him already in the truck, arm hanging out the window, a cigar clenched tightly between his teeth.

I opened the door to the truck and climbed in, wary and curious. I clipped on my seatbelt just as we squealed out of the parking lot, the force pushing me back into my seat. We tore down the highway, making me slightly nervous. We traveled like this for about ten minutes, in total silence, until I finally had the guts to talk to him.

"Logan," I began. He lurched the car sideways into another lane, making me clutch my armrests. I took a deep breath, focusing on the road ahead of me. "Why are you so angry?" I asked, stealing a glance at him. His jaw was clamped down on the burning cigar, his eyes hard. "Logan?" I asked after a moment of silence. "Please, Logan, tell me—"

"I went too far. I'm sorry." He said quickly, as if he was rushing to get it out of his system.

I wanted to laugh, but the way Logan was acting made me control it. "Too far?" I repeated jokingly. "Logan, that was not too far! You _touched_ my _leg_ with your _foot_! How is that too far?"

"You jerked away from me. It was stupid of me to even _think_ that you would—"

"Logan, pull over." I said. Well, more like ordered. Why was he acting this way? I mean, he had done almost nothing and I had a weird reaction, but why was he acting like he had forced me into something. "Pull. Over." I repeated, since he wasn't making any move to get to the side of the road. From the corner of my eye, he saw him throw me a quick glance, but he said nothing, and changed lanes until we were parked at the side of the highway. "Get out." I said again, opening my door and slamming it.

I watched him hesitantly step out, then shut his door, and solemnly walk around the front of the truck to meet me. His hands were stuck in his pockets and his shoulders slumped. I stared at him hard for a moment before completely melting and latching onto him around his shoulders.

The thing I loved about him was that he was the only one not afraid to get close to me. He would never flinch away from me if I came too near, and he was always the one to draw _me_ into his arms, as if my skin wouldn't suck the living daylights out of him. Bobby – my ex-boyfriend, I had to add – was never the one to brush my hair out of my eyes, or just hug me when he felt like it. He had to make sure I was fully covered before he did anything near me. Looking back on it now, I guess it felt good to be gone with him.

I felt his hands slowly wrap around my waist, and I buried my face into his chest, inhaling his amazing, calming scent before pulling back to look up at him. My hands dropped and I took a step back, feeling his hands slip from my waist and end back up in his pockets.

"Logan, what you did wasn't 'too far'. Jeez, if anything, you should be blamin' me!" I said, adding a smile to brighten up the mood. I sighed and continued. "Listen, the only reason I flinched, was because I'm not used to that… sort of stuff. Bobby never did anything with me, so I never got used to anything like that before, okay?" I reached my gloved hand up to his jaw and held it for a moment, making him change his gaze from the ground to my eyes. He never once flinched. "I'm sorry for actin' like that. Now, can you please change that attitude of yours and get your ass into gear? I wanna see my parents." I grinned – and thankfully – received a small one back.

"Sure, kid." He said, giving me a pat on the head before turning and climbing back into the truck. We were back on the highway in a matter of minutes, listening to some classic rock radio station. I sighed contentedly, proud of my mature lecture. I made a pact with myself that I should act like that more often. Maybe it would score me some more times like that with Logan… I smiled. This was going to be the best trip ever.


	6. One Helluva Night

**One Helluva Night**

_Author's Note:__ Hey there again! So sorry about the time it took me to put this up. If any parts of this story mix you up or don't make sense, please forgive me. I wrote more than half of this during the late hours of the evening. Uh, this has our first action scene of the book, so hopefully you'll like that, and Marie is this much closer to getting back home Enjoy and review!_

**-------------------------------------------------------**

"Don't get cocky. Anything can happen."

- Ozzie Guillen

**-------------------------------------------------------**

"Marie? Marie, wake up."

"Wha…?" I twitched and opened my eyes. I stared out onto a dim yellow-lit road, seemingly deserted with nothing but highway, from what I could see.

"C'mon, we're crashin' here for the night." Logan's low voice sounded somewhere around me. I blinked a couple of times and sat up, clicking my seatbelt off and brushing my hair from my sleepy eyes.

When I glanced off the road, I spotted a mediocre looking motel (called the 'Sleep Inn'), and across from it, an older looking yet busy bar. I yawned and stepped out of the truck, wondering what time it was.

"What time is it?" I asked, breathing in the cool summer night air.

"'Bout eleven." Logan answered. I saw him appear from around the other side of the truck, brushing his hands off on his pants. "It looked like you slept long and good." He said, gesturing for me to follow him towards the motel.

"Yeah. I always find I have no trouble sleeping in cars." I shrugged, slipping my gloved hands into the pockets of my denim jeans. "It's the feeling of the engine, or something. At least, that's what my Dad always said." I added, stealing a glance at Logan. I could tell he was listening even though he wasn't looking at me. Logan was a good listener.

As we made our way to the motel, I tried to remember where we were. I think the last sign I saw was for the state of Virginia, but I had been sleeping for a while, so we might have been somewhere in North Carolina by then. I made a mental note to ask someone later. We walked the rest the way into the motel in a comfortable silence, until the bell at the top of the door signaled our arrival.

"Why, hello there! Welcome to the Sleep Inn!" An unusually perky lady greeted us at the front desk, her bright blue, obviously fake long nails pausing their tapping on a computer to wave at us. "What can I get you two sweeties at such a late hour?"

Logan stepped forward, raising his eyebrow at the lady and her strange taste in colour. "One room, two beds, one night." There was a hesitation, and then he added, "Please."

There was more loud tapping on the computer and the lady made some sort of 'tsking' sound with her teeth. She tapped again and then made a pouty expression with her lips.

"I'm so sorry, but we've only got a room with a double, at the moment. But…" More tapping. "I think I can get a cot. Is that all right with you?" She asked.

Logan looked back at me and I shrugged.

"Sure, it's fine." He answered, pulling out his wallet. I stood there awkwardly until he finished paying, then peered outside towards the truck. "I'll go get our bags." I offered, beginning to make my way towards the door.

"No, I'll get 'em. You go to the room." He said, pushing through the door and disappearing into the darkness. I sighed and turned back to the lady at the desk.

She handed the key to me and smiled widely, flashing brown-stained teeth, most likely from coffee and cigarettes.

"So, where you two headed?" She asked politely, crossing her fingers together.

"Mississippi." I answered, smiling back.

"Oh! I used to go down there with _my_ father. We had so much fun together; fishing, picnics, oh… you're so lucky to have your dad still around." She said, sighing heavily. I furrowed my brow for a moment.

"What…?" I asked, slightly confused.

"You're very fortunate to have a father like that," She said again, gesturing with a nod of her chin towards the darkened window.

I paused for a moment, and then it came to me. She thought Logan was my father! Oh my God! I felt like bursting out laughing, but I controlled it and just smiled.

"Yes, yes I am." I said, tucking my white strands of hair behind my ears. Just as the door opened with Logan holding our bags, she cocked her head.

"Why do you have white hair, m'dear?" She asked politely, but obviously curious.

"Oh," I said, trying to think up a quick and legitimate excuse. I was sure that explaining to her that we were both mutants wouldn't be the best of ideas. "Bad dye job. It got all messed up, and now it won't come out." I said with a convincing smile.

She grinned back. "Well, hope your hair works out for you, and have a good night you two!" The lady gave a wave and I began to walk forward. "Sir? You have a very nice and very polite daughter. You should be very proud of her." The woman added just as we turned the corner towards our room. I glanced back at Logan to see the expression on his face, and smiled.

He looked not only confused, but taken-aback slightly, as well. I let out a giggle and stuffed the key into the keyhole when we reached our room, #94. I walked in and then flopped down on the bed, letting out a laugh and a sigh as I collapsed. Logan dumped the bags on the ground then looked down over me.

"What the hell was that?" He asked, eyebrow raised. "_Daughter_?"

I laughed again then shook my head, sitting up. "She thinks you're my dad. When you went out to get the bags she told me that I was very lucky to have a father like you. I didn't say anything, I thought it was sorta funny."

He continued to give me that look and he shook his head. "You got a strange sense of humour, kid." He broke eye contact to give a once-over of the motel room. It wasn't the best room, but at least it looked clean enough. I stood up and peered into the bathroom, spotting a shower in the corner as if beckoning me.

"Hey, Logan? I'm gonna take a shower." I stated, glancing back at him. He was midway between changing shirts, so I got a _very _nice eyeful of his torso. He slipped a different wife beater and then shrugged a dark burgundy button-up shirt overtop that. I bit my lip, smiling, and walked into the bathroom.

"I'll be at the bar across the street." He said just before I closed the door. I opened it again and stuck my head out.

"This late?" I asked.

He quirked his eyebrow at me. "Late?"

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. I might come once I've finished showering."

"Fine," Logan said, making his way towards the door. "But no alcoholic beverages. As I recall, you're only seventeen." He winked and I made a sarcastic pouty face.

"Damn you." I muttered before closing the bathroom door. I heard him leave, shutting the door quietly behind him, and I then stripped out of my clothing and stepped into the shower, inhaling sharply when cold water hit my skin. I scrubbed shampoo into my hair and rinsed it out, then followed with conditioner. It wasn't too long before I was dressed and blow-drying my hair. I had picked out a black skirt that reached about mid-thigh, but wore some beige nylons for safety, and a white pinstriped blouse with short sleeves. After putting on my high-heeled shoes, I stood in front of the mirror and took a quick look. I had to say, I looked pretty good. There was just one thing missing… I slipped on my nicest pair of green silk gloves and left the room, making sure to grab the key before I left.

I passed the front desk and just as I was about to walk out the front door, she popped up with that wide, toothy grin of hers.

"Your father just left to go to the bar, I think, m'dear." She said, spinning a pen between her fingers.

"Oh yeah, I know." I smiled. "My dad likes the night life." I said.

"Are you plannin' to go over there and get 'em?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yeah." _And maybe sneak a drink or two off of him._ I added to myself.

"Well, make it fast. That bar ain't the friendliest. I don't even venture over there myself, nowadays."

I made it look like I was nervous, but nodded reassuringly. "Sure thing, ma'am." I made a subtle saluting gesture and then left the motel.

It was quite dark outside, besides the few yellow lamps that dotted the street, and the road was pretty much empty, except the few cars that occasionally pulled in and out of the dingy looking bar.

I glanced left and right then hurried across, glad for the warm weather. I finally made it to the entrance and opened the door when I felt someone's eyes on me. I looked over my shoulder and spotted two men sauntering up behind me, staring at something I would've rather not had them look at. I took a step inside, purposely shutting the door in their face, and then squinted my eyes to start my search for Logan.

It was as smoky as hell in there; a blue haze of cigarette and cigar smoke hovering over everything. It stank of beer, sweat, and testosterone, and I took a good guess to say that it was rare for a gal like me to show up in a place like this. Making sure I kept my shoulders up and eyes in search mode, I strode through the place like I owned it. No one would be lookin' down on me tonight!

Finding it difficult to spot Logan, I took a seat at the bar, hoping that he wasn't too drunk to sniff me out of the crowd. I sighed and brushed my slightly damp hair from my face, straightening my gloves and trying to spot Logan from the groups of stinking men.

"What's a fine lookin' thing like you doin' in a place like this, huh?" A raspy voice sounded behind me. I glanced over my shoulder with a skeptical look, trying to hide my disgust as I saw who was talking to me.

It was a broad-shouldered, pot-bellied, scruffy, graying man whose dark brown eyes gleamed uncomfortably from under the brim of his rusty red trucker hat. He cast me a smile and to tell you the truth, it made me want to shudder. He was definitely missing a few teeth, while the rest were either rotting or yellow.

"None'a your business." I said bravely, my accent protruding more so than normal in my form of defense.

"Hey, don't get all defensive on me, cutie. Just tryin' to be polite." He said, eyes still gleaming. "You want a drink?"

I swallowed and opened my mouth to speak.

"No, she doesn't." Logan's voice appeared from nowhere. I whipped around to see him staring hard at the man across from me, his body at full height and his glower harsh. Even I felt intimidated by him.

Scruffy raised his furry caterpillar eyebrow and squinted. "And who the hell're you?"

I felt Logan's warm hand on my shoulder and he gave me a subtle squeeze. "I'm her father." I turned back around and stared up at him incredulously. His expression, however, was a serious as could be. I looked back at Scruffy and watched his eye twitch. "So leave my goddamn daughter alone."

Scruffy glared at Logan, then back to me, then stood up and stalked off into the smoky haze. I turned around and smirked. Logan sat down and nodded towards the bartender for a beer.

"You want anythin'?" He asked, his voice suddenly softer.

"Uh, just water." I answered. There was an awkward moment before the youngish looking bartender (who wasn't too shabby, I had to admit) set our drinks down on the counter and gave me a wink. I smiled back and took a small sip of my water. Logan took a long swig of his beer and then set it down in front of him, glancing over at me.

"Have any trouble gettin' here?" He asked. Okay, acting real fatherly here. Well, since he told Scruffy that he _was_ my dad, then he might as well _act _like one, right? I shrugged.

"I wasn't harassed or raped, if that's what you mean." I said with a smile to let him know I was being sarcastic. He cocked his eyebrow at me.

"Don't joke about that." He said softly.

"Why?" I asked, taking another gulp of water. "I can take care of myself. I'm a _strong_ girl." I added a smirk and pretended to flex my arm.

"Up against a guy like _that_?" Logan said, nodding towards a huge, heavy-set man with a chest as about as wide as two of me shoulder to shoulder. Maybe even two and a half.

"Well, he don't know that I got poisonous skin, so if anyone here tries to touch me, they'll either have a seizure, end up in a coma, or die." I said, wiping the condensation off of the glass. "I'm all thought out, sugar." I winked at Logan. I felt good enough to do it tonight; I was feeling outgoing and flirty, and if I didn't spot a good lookin' guy by the end of the night, I had a feeling I was gonna get cranky.

Just then, the door opened to the bar and a group of young adults, maybe late teens, walked through the door. There were three guys and three girls, but they looked out of place, nervous almost. I speculated they were lost and were looking for directions, but I all I did was give the guys a once-over. They were all pretty good looking. One who stood out to me had dark, almost black hair, and fair skin. I couldn't tell from all the bodies and smoke, but I took a guess and said that his eyes were hazel or grey. Something neutral.

I guess I was staring too long since Mr. Cutie looked over in my direction and saw me ogling him. He smiled, revealing white, straight teeth, and I smiled back, winking. Logan noticed this as well, and he cleared his throat to get my attention.

"What?" I asked as if he had just accused me of doing something heinous.

He made a muffled coughing sound and then stuck his beer bottle to his lips, in hopes of trying to hide his amused smirk. "Nothin'." He said, wiping at his lips to once again, keep me from seeing the obvious.

"Hey, mister, just because there ain't a good selection—" I glanced around the bar scene and corrected myself. "Or, _any _selection, Ah might add, for you to flirt with, don't go smirkin' at me." My Southern accent was prominent, for some reason, and he just smirked again.

"There's always you." Logan said, amber eyes shining.

"Ha!" I laughed, pushing his arm playfully. I wanted to ask him how many beers he had drank before I had arrived, but I didn't bother. He wouldn't get drunk here; to get him drunk, he needed to drink one _hell_ of a lot of alcohol to even feel buzzed. He was just playin' around. I think… "You couldn't seduce me if you wanted to." I stood up from my seat and grabbed the beer bottle from his loose hands and took a good, long swig before placing it back on the counter. The somehow familiar scent and taste seemed to wake my Inner-Logan, and I could feel him pawing at the back of my mind.

"You wanna bet?" He half-growled.

I shook my head no. "Naw, I'm gonna go get acquainted with some _guys_." I drawled the last part and grinned. "Have fun, sugar." And with that, I turned around and sauntered over towards the young group of people who had just walked in.

The cute one with dark hair looked up at me first and smiled. As I had shimmied my way over to their table, I noticed there was a tiny dancing floor with some loud music playing, and I took the perfect opportunity to get to know Mr. Cutie a bit more.

"Hey, sugar, you feel like dancin'?" I asked, placing my gloved hands on my hips, giving him a sly smile.

One of the girls who was sitting beside him – a light-haired brunette with dark blue eyes – glared at me and then glared at him as if to say 'oh-no-you-don't'. Without a second glance to the girl, he stood up, grinning.

"Love to." He said loudly over the music.

"Great!" I grabbed his wrist and dragged him over to the pretty much empty dance floor and then turned my back, beginning to gyrate to the fast beat of the music. "I'm Rogue,"

"Rogue?" He asked questioningly. I nodded, eyes closed as I swayed to the music. "Cody. I'm Cody." He said. He had a nice voice, this Cody. I liked him. I pushed my body up against his and I felt his hands roam over my hips and stomach. I didn't feel like myself at all tonight, and I partly blamed my Inner-Logan. He was always the one who made me blurt out rude (and sometimes truthful) things, as well as act impulsively, as well as a whole load of other crap. "What's with the white streaks?" He asked in my ear, over the music.

"Bad dye-job." I said with a smile. It was always the first excuse that came out of my mouth when a stranger asked about my weird hair.

"Well, I like it. It's hot." Cody replied. I could hear the grin in his voice. I could feel everyone's eyes on me, but I didn't care. I was covered in layers of clothing and beginning to work up a good sweat, but I didn't care. Let everyone see me as a crazy whore. They could think what they think. Hell, I'd even let Logan—

I felt my skin against his and my eyes flew open. He was kissing me, hard, and I hadn't even noticed it. Then I felt the pull. I tried pulling away, but his hands were gripping my arms and were locking into place as I sucked the energy out of him. I screamed and jerked myself away as hard as I could, breaking the contact of my skin on his. I took a wobbly step back as Cody's thoughts, feelings, and memories flooded my mind.

As I shook my head and took a few gasping breaths, I focused on the scene in front of me. Cody was lying on the floor, conscious, but barely, with his friends surrounding him, on their knees.

"Cody? Cody, c'mon, talk to me!" The girl with brown hair and blue eyes pleaded, patting his cheeks lightly. One of the other guys looked up at me with a fierce gaze.

"What the hell did you do to him?!" He cried out. Now I _knew_ everyone was staring. And it wasn't because I was dancing suggestively. It was because I almost killed someone by kissing them. Tears sprang to my eyes and my chin wavered.

"I'm sorry…" I whispered, not trusting my voice to project. Their brows furrowed, but before they could say anything else, I turned on my heel and sprinted out of the bar, pushing past a few men to try to find my way out. I burst through the two front doors and stumbled down the stairs, almost tripping on the gravel. Through my tear-clouded eyes, I looked up and hurriedly tried to find a place where I could just sit and be with myself. Going back to the motel would be too easy for Logan to find me, and just staying around would get me into more trouble than I already was in. I sniffed and wiped my eyes, and then noticed as two lumbering figures looked like they were making their way towards me.

Taking a breath and turning towards the side of the bar, I hurried over into the shadows, hoping they weren't coming to find me and take me to the police or something. I leaned my head up against the damp wood of the side of the bar and closed my eyes, trying to concentrate.

The first thought that popped into my mind was how the hell could I have been that stupid? I mean, acting and dancing and just _doing_ all those things were so incredibly dangerous, I didn't know how I didn't see it before. I shouldn't of even _come_ to the bar in the first place, let alone pick up some random stranger and start dancing with him.

I made sure I banged my head against the side of the building a couple times before I looked up and wiped the remnants of tears from my cheeks and made my way towards the road to go back to the motel. Hopefully Logan wouldn't—

"Hey, little lady, where you runnin' off to?" An unfamiliar voice spoke from the entrance of the alleyway-like pass that I was standing in. The silhouette of the two men I had spotted before were now blocking my exit, and my muscles tensed. One of them was Scruffy from earlier that night.

"'Scuse me…" I muttered, sniffing and trying to push my way past the two. I felt one of their large hands shove me on the shoulder, pushing me back into the dark walkway. I looked up at them and scowled.

"Yer quite the knockout, ain'tcha, missy?" The other one said, cracking his knuckles as he took a step towards me. Scruffy sniggered at the joke. I clenched my fists.

"Get outta my way." I said through my teeth, making sure to glare at them both.

"Ooh, looky here, we got ourselves a badass." Said Knuckles. Scruffy chuckled again and reached out to grab my wrist.

After everything that happened tonight: the ups, the downs, the laughs, the tears. I was _not_ gonna take this from _these_ guys. I let out an angry cry and grabbed him around the wrist, and in a flash, Scruffy had ended up flat on his back, the wind knocked out of him. I stepped back, slightly shocked at not only my strength, but the move in which I used to get him there. I didn't know any martial arts or any of that stuff, but it was then when I felt my Inner-Logan beating on the inside of my mind.

"_C'mon, we can take 'em, Marie. I'll help you."_ Logan's strong voice encouraged me. _"I promise."_ I had no idea what this voice inside my mind was talking about, but I let my body and limbs move and work as if I had practiced for years.

Knuckles came roaring towards me, and I moved towards him, instead of away, as my usual self would do, and ducked just in time, grabbing his knees and using them as levers to force him over me. His shoe caught my head as he went over, but he was sent flying and landed head first into the gravel. Rubbing the sore spot, I turned and stared down at him, making sure he was knocked out solid. He looked pretty beat up, but I had a strong doubt that he was totally finished.

I heard angry cussing behind me and I swirled around just in time to catch Scruffy's flying fist. Once again, I was surprised by how my body knew how to easily find weak spots and hit them hard, crippling the large man for a couple seconds before finishing him with a final blow to the back of the head, then hitting him against the wooden wall. I flipped some hair from my face and took a few deep breaths, wiping the sweat from my forehead. Jeez, this was one helluva night.

Just then, I felt a strong grip around my ankle and all of a sudden I was pulled to the ground. I was winded and I was sure I had scraped my chin, but that wasn't my concern at that moment. Knuckles was slowly dragging me across the gravel towards him, and I whipped around to see where he was, scrabbling with my fingers to try and find something to slow me down. He was on his feet now, and I could feel him beginning to life me off the ground.

A memory of Logan's flashed through my mind and quickly spun around; using all the strength I had, I drew back my leg and sent a kick flying straight at his knee. The hand around my ankle quickly gave away and I could hear him stumble backwards. I jumped to my feet and made a sprint towards the exit, but before I could burst back out into the parking lot, back to safety, I felt one of them grab a fistful of my hair. I screamed and stopped abruptly, tears coming to my eyes as I felt him jerk me around. It was Scruffy. And he looked pissed beyond belief.

"You… little… bitch…" He muttered, wiping some blood away from his mouth. He spat the red liquid on the ground and then shoved me against the side of the building. I cried out again as I felt my cheekbone made contact with the wood, and I knew that was going to leave a mark. "You… are going to regret…" He was holding me by the back of my shirt, and for the first time during the fight, the thought of just knocking them out with my skin entered my mind. All I would need to do is get them close enough and whip off my glove… "_Everything_ you just did, you little _fucker_!" He grabbed the back of my shirt and threw me to the ground. My elbow made hit the ground first and I cried out, holding back the tears that wanted to pour down my face.

I felt his hand grip me on the back of my shirt again, readying to throw or toss me somewhere, and I knew this was the only moment I was going to get. I hurriedly tore one of my gloves off, but just before either of us could move a muscle, I heard a hard, well-thrown punch. I winced and scrambled away when I felt Scruffy's hand disappear from my back, and quickly made it to my feet.

Logan was beating the shit out of him, punching every painful place possible, and I even thought I heard Logan break Scruffy's nose. Finally Logan let him drop to the ground in a lifeless heap, and then he squatted down beside him, getting close to his ear.

"If I _ever_," He hissed menacingly. "Catch you even _looking _at her," Scruffy made a quiet moan. "_Again_." Logan paused as he grabbed his collar and hoisted him up so that they were looking eye to eye. "_I'll kill you."_ I could see the venom just pouring from his gaze, his amber orbs like daggers. No one could have stood up to Logan's stare at that moment. Not even Xavier, or Magneto. He dropped, or, more realistically, shoved Scruffy back onto the gravelly floor, then stood up, wiping the corner of his mouth. He looked up at me, concern replacing anger.

"You okay?" He asked in a softened gruff tone.

I knew he had just saved my life and all that shit, but everything that I had gone through, no, gotten myself _into_ tonight, it made me want to scream at him. Sure, I had caused all those problems myself and I had no right or reason to be angry with him, but for some reason, for some fucked up reason, he was my anger target.

"Of course I'm okay!" I said, throwing my arms up in the air. "I almost killed an innocent boy by having fun and being spontaneous, and then took on two ogres who were thinking they were gonna get some fun in tonight!" I bent down, grabbing the glove I had stripped off before Logan had appeared and looked it over. "Obviously I'm fucking great!" I spotted a large tear down the seam and there were a couple holes in it. I felt the tears welling up again but I bit my tongue to hold them back. Why did I always want to cry in front of Logan? Especially over a fucking _glove_.

There was a break of silence and I could tell Logan was searching for the right words. I closed my eyes and straightened up, putting the glove back on for safety. They were my nicest pair I owned and the most expensive as well. I crossed my arms, staring at my feet.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner."

I looked up at him through my hair. I was always surprised at his tenderness towards me. If it was anyone else… hell, he wouldn't even be there. I struggled for words, finding my anger quickly dissipating, then sighed heavily.

"No, I'm sorry for acting so stupidly." I shrugged, holding my arms. "I wasn't thinking straight tonight, and I got totally out of hand and I acted impulsively, and I took too many risks, and—"

"It's okay, Rogue, it's not your fault—"

"Yes, it is!" I said, interrupting. I sighed again, rubbing my palm into my forehead. "With a mutation like mine, I have to be cautious, wary, and that, in there," I gestured towards the bar. "Was not cautious at all. I shouldn't have done any of that, but…" I didn't want to explain to Logan that the main reason I was feeling outgoing and crazy tonight was because of him and his memories and emotions inside of me. I shook my head and looked up at him. "I'm sorry."

Logan sighed softly and shook his head, then looked back at me and made a nodding gesture back towards the motel.

"C'mon, it's late. You're tired, I'm tired, and I think we've had enough adventures tonight." He said with an encouraging smile.

I walked towards him and he fell in stride with me as we walked out of alley and out into the brightly lit parking lot, leaving the two men behind us without a second glance. I leaned my head on his arm as we walked.

"I seriously doubt you're tired." I scoffed, smirking. I felt him shrug.

"Okay, I'm not. But I had to use some sort of excuse to make you feel like you weren't the only one who wanted to get the hell outta there." He said, nudging me jokingly.

I rolled my eyes as we walked across the road, enjoying the closeness of Logan and forgetting all about seeing my parents the next day.

"I coulda taken 'em, y'know. Both of them. I woulda beaten them up so bad."

Logan held our room door open for me and I walked inside, smiling playfully. He just smiled and laughed. Really laughed, and I had to say, that was really nice to hear.

"I seriously doubt that." He said, closing the door behind him.


	7. Home Sweet Home

**Home Sweet Home**

_Author's Note:_ _Hey y'all! Jesus Christ almighty, I am SO UNBELIEVABELY SORRY that I took this long to put up this chapter! The family I was living with didn't have wireless Internet, and all my stories are on my laptop, so I couldn't post anything while in Australia. When I got back, my laptop just wouldn't turn on, so when I got a spare from my school, they couldn't transfer any of my data onto my new one, so I didn't have any of my chapters to work from. I just got back from China last week and my original laptop finally got back, so I finished this chapter. Once again, I am SO SORRY! It will not happen again, let me assure you of that. _

_I won't be traveling for a while, so I can get some more chapters up. Just a warning, I do have a lot of school work to catch up on, so it will take some time for the chapters to be put up, although not as much time as the last break. :P Hope you enjoy, and please, PLEASE review! _

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"Romance fails us and so do friendships, but the relationship of parent and child, less noisy than all the others, remains indelible and indestructible; the strongest relationship on earth."

- Theodore Reik

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Once we settled down in the room, I glanced at myself in a small mirror hanging on the wall. It was true; I had received a large scrape on my chin and I could tell my cheekbone was already bruising. I brushed it softly and winced.

"You okay?" Logan asked, bending down over his bag full of clothes.

I looked at him for a moment through the reflection of the mirror and nodded. "Yeah, just grazed my chin and bruised my cheek. It'll heal soon enough."

"You… you want it to heal faster? So your parents don't ask too many questions?" Logan asked. At first I was confused, but then I realized that he wanted me to take some of his healing powers. I swiveled around and gave him an expression that was half-angry, half-taken aback.

"No!" I said with a slightly louder tone. I quickly lowered my voice and gave him a sympathetic gaze. "Logan, I know you want to help, but seriously, it's okay. And plus… you know I don't like using my mutations. I hate them. And you know it."

"Okay, I'm sorry. But if you ever want to, or need to…" He looked at me sincerely. "It's fine with me. I'll always be there to help." I nodded and turned to the beds.

I studied them for a moment before turning back to Logan.

"What are we going to do about... this?" I asked, gesturing awkwardly towards the double bed. He looked up from searching his bag and shrugged. He turned back to his small piece of luggage without saying anything. I sighed, shoulders sagging.

"Well," I began, speaking my thoughts. "The lady at the front said she could get us a cot or something." I leaped onto the bed, landing on my stomach, and grabbed the phone of its holder. "I'll just phone the front desk and see if they've got any." There was still no response from Logan. It rang three, four, then five times until it reached the voicemail for the Inn. I sighed and placed the phone back on its holder.

"Seems like no one's at the front desk." I stated, looking over at Logan who was still rummaging around in his bag. "You look like a squirrel." I said, smirking. He looked up at me over his shoulder, raising his eyebrow, then turned back. "What're you lookin' for anyways?" I asked, forehead creasing. There was another few silent seconds of digging through his small array of clothing until he looked up, his expression slightly annoyed.

"I…" He began, massaging his muttonchops before continuing with a sigh. "I don't have any…" The rest was lost in a mumble.

I waited. "You don't have any what…?" I asked.

"I don't have any… sleeping… garments."

I felt like laughing because I had never once heard Logan use the word 'garments' before. "What? Like, pajamas?" I asked, hiding my smile.

"Yeah," He said, running his fingers through his hair. "Pajamas."

"Wait a sec," I paused for a moment, sliding forward on my stomach to the edge of the bed. "Then what do you wear when you sleep?" I think I sounded slightly curious and cynical, because he too hesitated before speaking.

"S… Sometimes nothing." Wow. I think I've been the only person in the world who's seen Logan in discomfort.

I couldn't hold back my smile, as well as a slight blush. "You sleep… in the nude?"

"Sometimes… I used to." He stood up from his bag and rubbed his eyes, sighing tiredly. "Ever since I started to live in the mansion, I had to… wear stuff. Like boxers and shit." He continued to mumble and mutter things, but all I could make out was something along the lines of 'Xavier said to because of students and stuff'.

"Then wear boxers." He looked over at me and I held his gaze. "Do you think I care?"

"I'd think you'd care after what happened before." I knew he was referring to the nightmare incident where I had gone into his room and tried to wake him up. Final result? I got stabbed through the lung and almost killed Logan when I took his powers to save myself. Not a pleasant memory.

I huffed. "Whatever, we still have the problem of _one bed_, so it won't matter what the hell you wear."

He leaned against the wall and sighed, shaking his head. "You sleep in it. I'll take the floor."

"What?" I said, slightly bewildered. "But…"

"But what? We've got one bed and I don't get back pains or stiffness. There's another pillow and some blankets in the closet; I'll use those." He said, nodding towards the bed I was lying on. "Now get your adventurous little ass in bed. I'm wakin' you up early tomorrow so we can arrive at your folks' place by lunch time." Logan stripped his burgundy button-up shirt and threw it next to his bag, then pulled off his jeans.

This was all while I was still lying on the bed, facing him. And getting a beautiful eyeful, I might add. But out of courtesy and respect (and maybe a bit of embarrassing self-insecurity) I averted my eyes and hurried into the bathroom with my own mauve, long-sleeved nightgown. I came back out, almost covered from head to toe, and glanced down to beside the bed where Logan was currently arranging a pile of pillows and blankets. He was still just in his boxers, so I guess he had taken my advice. I smiled as he tucked himself in, and I followed, slipping underneath the heavy blankets and reaching over towards the light on the stand.

"Marie?" Logan said, his eyes closed as he lay on his back. I couldn't tear my eyes away from his bare chest; he was rarely seen without anything on, but I had that certain privilege, and I was not about to pass the chance.

"Yeah?" I quickly answered back, almost forgetting to speak.

"If… if I have any nightmares, and you wake up…" He paused, then opened his eyes. He locked onto mine and he gave me a very serious stare. "Don't do anything. Leave me be. And if I wake up and don't seem… myself?" I nodded. "Stay in the bed, don't get out, don't come near me, okay? Don't even say anything to me. Just go straight back to bed and ignore anything I do." His gaze shifted slightly from seriousness to compassion. "Understood?"

I nodded again, swallowing. "Understood, Chief."

"Good." He closed his eyes and moved around in his sheets, lying on his side and facing his back to me. "'Night, kid."

"Night…" I muttered, sounding slightly absentminded. I was thinking over what Logan had just told me. I mean, I knew he suffered from nightmares; I had the same ones play through my mind as well when I had absorbed Logan's memories. I still got them, but it was rare now, since most of it had worn off. But waking up and not acting… normal? That didn't sound like Logan at all. I desperately wanted to ask him about it, but he never told anyone about his past or nightmares. That was a very private part of his life that no one but him knew.

I clicked the lamp off, covering the room in a blanket of darkness, and snuggled under the warm sheets. I fell asleep quickly and didn't wake up any time during the night, so hopefully nothing had happened with Logan.

I awoke to the smell of coffee, and I smiled, rolling over and opening my eyes. The nest where Logan had slept the night before was empty and from what I could see, the room itself was uninhabited except for me. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, then slipped out from under the covers, glancing in the bathroom. That as well was vacant. The coffee pot in there was filled with the dark brown liquid and I decided to pour myself a cup, since it was still hot at the time.

I added milk and a bit of sugar, then glanced at the door. There was a small not I had not noticed before that was stuck on with a small bit of tape. I walked over and snatched it off, scanning it quickly.

_GETTING BREAKFAST. STARTED COFFEE IN THE BATHROOM. I'LL BE BACK AT AROUND 8:30._

There was no signature but it was clear to me that it was obviously Logan. His traditional, capitalized chicken scratch was a giveaway. I crumpled the note up and looked over my shoulder to the alarm clock on the bedside table. It read 8:15. I was surprised that I had woken up so early – well, early for my standards – but I realized that Logan most likely made the coffee to wake me up instead of setting an alarm or waking me up himself.

I sighed and took another sip of coffee, then rested it on the bathroom counter as I got changed. It hit me that today I would be seeing my parents, and I actually had to stop and take some deep breaths. I was getting nervous and asking myself questions that only worried me more. Like, would they welcome me back home? What if they didn't? What if they had moved? Where would I go next?

I finished tugging my green shirt on then slipped on some gloves, downing the rest of my coffee. Just as I walked out of the bathroom, the door opened and in walked Logan. He was clutching a plastic bag in one of his hands, and I could smell the fresh bread as it wafted into the room.

"Morning!" I welcomed him happily. He grunted in response. "What'cha get?" I asked, skipping over and hastily taking the bag from him. The smell of bread had made me realize how hungry I was.

"Fresh bagels and some buns." He answered, watching me tear into the packaging. "You mind if we eat in the car? Gotta get outta here if you wanna see your parents by noon."

I swallowed a large chunk of a buttered bagel and nodded. "Sure." I wrapped my bagel back up and then hurried towards my duffel bag. "Just let me pack up first."

It took not even a minute to shove the last of my things into my pack and we headed out the door, the lady at the front desk (wearing a bright fuchsia nail polish now) waving goodbye. We climbed into Logan's truck and off we went, once again on the road.

Every minute I knew I was that much closer to seeing my mom and my dad, but I also knew I was that much closer to an either make-it-or-break-it relationship too. I fiddled with the zipper on my coat, continuing to bite my lip until it became raw. My eyes were glued to the window, but I barely processed what I was seeing; it was just a colourful blur, and when Logan interrupted me from my thoughts, I almost jumped.

"What?" I asked, not hearing him the first time.

"I said, you okay?" He asked, glancing over at me periodically with concern evident in his eyes.

I shrugged, looking down at my hands, which I noticed were shaking. I tried speaking, found I couldn't, then cleared my throat and tried again. "Y-yeah, I think so." I sighed, the silence sounding like a buzz in my ear. "I guess… I guess I'm just nervous…" I muttered.

"You have every right to be." Logan said, although I'm not so sure it sounded all that reassuring. There was some more silence and he added, "Y'know, I'll be with you the whole way through, right? From beginning to end, right at your side."

I nodded fervently, seeing as I couldn't speak. Another couple of minutes passed when he spoke up again.

"You hungry?"

I shook my head 'no'. Not only was I not feeling hungry; I was feeling sick. I didn't know why I was so nervous about seeing them. They were probably the exact same and hadn't changed one bit. They'd welcome me back and we'd talk and… I guess I was just really nervous about if they _didn't_ welcome me back, if they didn't take me back in. I wouldn't know how to act or how to deal with that type of rejection, especially after what had just happened with Bobby. I realized that I was on the brink of hyperventilating, so I took a few deep breaths, which seemed to calm me slightly.

"H-how long do you think? Until we get there?" I asked, twisting the hem of my t-shirt between my gloved fingers.

"I don't know." Logan said. "You tell me."

I blushed lightly and cleared my throat. "Oh, uh, yeah, right." I looked up and out of the window for the first time in a couple of hours and began to recognize some streets, landmarks, and other things like that. It was when we passed my old elementary school I began to guide Logan down certain streets. We got lost once, but it was only because a road had been taken out and another put in, leading down a completely different direction, but we were luckily able to get back on track and continue our journey to my house.

It was only a matter of another couple minutes before I spotted my house. It was just as I remembered it: blue sides, white roof, and large porch. I could tell that they had touched it up a bit with new paint and shingles, but other than that, it was exactly the same. Logan pulled over to the side of the road and shut the engine off, leaning back in his seat. I made no move to unbuckle myself; all I did was stare at my house, my heart racing in my chest.

"Well…?" Logan said after a minute of silence between us. His voice jolted me out of my thoughts and I even jumped slightly in my seat.

"I… I'll… Will you walk… up to the door with me?"

There was no pause from Logan. "Yeah."

"Okay." I said quietly, slowly reaching to undo my seatbelt. "Okay. Alright." I opened my door as Logan did and slowly stepped out onto the pavement, everything around me seeming completely surreal. I let out a slow breath as we walked up the driveway and onto my familiar wrap-around porch. We were now standing right in front of my door, and I raised my hand to ring the doorbell, but it was shaking badly. My whole body was shaking. And now I didn't want to do this anymore. Voices in the back of my mind sprouted up as soon as they sensed my hesitation and began to whisper regretful thoughts into my ear.

_Why go back? They won't take you in. They never tried to look for you, they never called, they did absolutely _nothing_. Your parents don't care about you anymore. They disowned you after what you did to poor, innocent David. Everyone despises you. That's why you left. That's why you left and never looked back._

My hand fell and I felt a wave of dizziness overcome me. I stumbled back and clutched my forehead with my gloved hand. My breathing was fast and uneven. I think I was hyperventilating.

"Kid, you okay?" Logan's reassuring voice snapped me back to reality. The voices slowly disappeared back to their dark depths of my mind and I looked up at him with uncertain eyes. I swallowed.

"No, not really." I told him truthfully, regaining as much composure as I had left.

"Talk it out." He suggested, leaning on the white porch's railing. It protested loudly.

I wrung my hands together nervously as I tried to explain my thoughts in an ordered sentence that made sense.

"I…" I started, but bit the inside of my cheek. I chewed it for a moment before continuing. "I guess I'm… I think I'm overreacting." Logan was silent. I continued. "I just think that my parents won't want me back." I sighed heavily. "I'm afraid of rejection."

Logan looked like he was trying to come up with something to say, but he lifted himself off of the handrail and took a step up to stand next to me. I waited for his response, but instead he quickly reached out with his hand and rung the doorbell.

I stood there, shocked. I think my heart stopped for a second, but it restarted and started beating furiously. I guess my face must have been pretty amusing, because Logan tried to conceal his smirk as a muffled "Comin'!" came from behind the door.

"L-Logan! What the hell?!" I began, torn between who was about to open the door and wanting to rip his head off. "How could y—"

The door opened wide and there stood my mother, in a pale blue blouse and a flowy summer skirt. A stained white apron was tied loosely around her middle while a spoon with some sort of mixture at the end was clutched in one hand. Her once long, wavy dark brown hair was cut to shoulder-length but the rest of her looked exactly like I had remembered it.

It took her a moment to realize who I was, and when she did, her eyes widened and her mouth dropped. Her whole body went rigid but the spoon grasped in her hand clattered to the floor.

"M… Marie?" She whispered, eyes glazing over.

"Yeah, Mama." I responded in a whisper, voice cracking with emotion. "It's me."

Half a second passed and for a moment I thought she was going to pass out, but she rushed forward instead to embrace me in a bone-shattering hug. I clasped onto her and let my body rack itself with tears.

"Oh mah God, Marie! Thank the Lord, you're safe!" She cried out, tears pouring down her face as well.

It was good to be home.


	8. Catching Up & Falling Down

**Catching Up & Falling Down**

_Author's Note:__ Sorry again with taking so long. As usual, school's up my ass every moment it gets, and my hockey's getting pretty intense too, now it's coming up playoff time. I wanna thank those of you who not only reviewed this week's chapter, but also favoured it! You guys give me the motivation to continue writing this, really, you do. I hope you guys continue to do so and I also hope you enjoy this week's chapter! Thanks so much! Keep those reviews up!_

_P.S. Sorry for the terrible written Southern accents! Hopefully while you read this, you can just say it in your head with an accent and ignore the random and really weird spelling. _

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"But that intimacy of mutual embarrassment, in which each feels that the other is feeling  something, having once existed, its effect is not to be done away with."

– George Eliot

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I barely realized what was going on in the blur of tears and hugs before we stumbled through the doorway and into the house. My mom was blabbering about something like "I missed you!" and "Where did you go?" and "Oh mah Gahd, you're back!" but it was too fast and muffled for me to really understand what she was saying. I heard the door shut behind us and for a moment I was able to tear my eyes from my mum's chest to see that Logan had followed right behind us, silent as ever.

"Marie, oh Marie!" My mother cried out, holding me even closer (if that was even possible?). I was careful enough to avoid touching my skin to hers. "How did you – where did you go? – What happened – I, oh dear Lord…" She stuttered and smiled as she wiped the tears from her eyes. I finally pried myself from her familiar, welcoming arms and wiped at my eyes as well, trying to stop myself from grinning like an idiot.

"Mama… M-Mama, I –" I tried to interrupt her but she continued to sniff and cry out in joy. I waited another moment and then put my gloved hand on her arm. It instantly silenced her. "Mama, listen, Ah know you must have so many questions, and Ah want to tell ya everything, but Ah think we need to sit down and relax first." I recognized my Southern accent protruding more than normal, and that made me smile even more. It was so good to be home!

I was so happy to see my Mama that I had totally forgotten about the tall, brawny man standing behind me. My mother pulled me down the corridor and into the kitchen where it still had the same white and blue wallpaper and the same old pots and pans hanging on the wall. She pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and began rambling again.

"Ya came just in tahme, Marie, I was makin' some'a mah famous chocolate chip cookies…" She drawled as she made her way over to the oven. She slipped on some bright pink oven mitts and began to take out the cookie sheets from the oven.

"That's great Mama, but, um… Ah'd like you meet someone." As if on cue, Logan stepped up from my shadow and took a stand on my left, hands shoved deeply into his pockets. But he was as cool as a cucumber and looked as if he knew exactly what was going on. She placed the cookie pan on a cooling rack and turned around, oven mitts still adorning both hands. "Mama," I said, smiling and gesturing towards Logan with a twirl of my hands. "This is Logan. He's one of the… professors at the school Ah go to."

She looked slightly surprised, like she hadn't noticed Logan there at all in the first place, but slipped off her pink oven mitts and walked forward and grasped his open, outstretched hand. They shook slowly and Logan still said nothing. He just stood there and smiled politely. I grinned.

"Professor, huh? And what's this about a school? Please, Marie, ya gotta tell me everythang." She said, placing the freshly baked cookies onto a plate. She brought it over just as Logan was sitting down, and then turned around and pulled some milk from the fridge and some glasses from the cupboards.

"Ah'd love to, Mama, but where's Papa? I want t'see him too." At the mentioning of my father, my mother stiffened, almost dropping the glasses. She set them down quickly and took a seat herself, swallowing and wringing her hands together nervously.

"Marie…" She began, and from the tone of her voice and her body language, I could tell that for some reason, whatever she was going to say, it was gonna be bad. "Marie, he… your father…" She fiddled with the hem of her apron and her voice wavered.

"Mama, what is it?" She didn't answer me so I leaned forward on my chair and put my hand on her nervous ones.

"Your Papa passed away, sweetheart." She looked up, tears in her eyes once again, a sad smile upon her lips.

I was totally speechless. I came all this way to see my parents after all these years and I find out that my father's _dead_? I didn't want to believe it. He _couldn't_ be dead. I mean, he had been alive, well, and healthy when I had left… two years ago. Tears seeped down my cheeks as I realized that the last time I saw him was when I ran away. And even then, I didn't say goodbye. I never really had the chance to say… goodbye.

I was bawling now, and before I knew it, I was in my mother's arms again, and we were both weeping. But for a moment I forgot about my skin, and her arm rested against mine for comfort. They only contacted for a couple seconds, but it was enough to hurt her. I pulled back as quickly as I could, knocking my chair over and falling onto the ground as I did. My mother slumped in her chair, out of breath and very pale.

"Oh ma Gahd, Mama, Ah'm so sorry! A-Ah didn't mean to!" I cried out trying to push the sudden unfamiliar memories from my mind. I began to stand up, but Logan was at my side before I could get back onto my feet. He hoisted me up and asked me if I was okay. "Ah'm, fine, Logan! Ah think it's mah mother who you should be askin'!" He released me quickly without a word and I rushed towards my mother, who had a thin layer of sweat plastering her pale face.

"Ah'm f-fine, darlin'… Just outta breath, th-that's all…" She murmured, rubbing her temples thoroughly and blinking a couple times as if to clear her head. She cleared her throat as I hesitated to go near her, in fear of making contact like that again. "Marie, wh… what happened? Ah thought…"

"Mama, Ah'm so sorry, Ah shoulda been more careful…" I said softly, on the brink of tears again. Why was I such a screw-up? "Listen, Ah… Ah still have that… problem." She gave me a quizzical and confused look. "Y'know…" I urged, not really wanting to explain it. "The problem that… hurt David."

It took her a moment, but finally the realization hit her like a brick wall. "But sweetheart… Ah thought… you maht've… Ah dunno, Ah guess… fixed it?

"Ah've trahed _so_ hard, Mama, ya gotta believe me! Ah've trahed everything possible to get rid of it, but Ah…" I swallowed the growing lump in my throat. And fiddled with my glove fingers, pulling them off and pulling them back on again. "It's still there… but it's part'a me now." I looked up at her and gave her the most courageous smile I could possible manage. "Ah'm a mutant, Mama."

At least she didn't scream. Or run away. She was still sitting down, looking in control, but I swear her face just got a little paler. She was silent for a moment or two, trying to figure out what to say. I could tell from the wariness in her eyes that she was nervous and unsure. I couldn't blame her, really.

"You're…" She began, swallowing. "You're one'uh those… people, huh?" My Mama said. I felt a pang of pain in my heart as she said it. It was like I was dirty. Like I was unwanted.

I cleared my throat and nodded, smile gone from my face. I could feel Logan hovering behind me and I knew that he wanted to interject, to say something to back me up, but he knew that now was not the moment, and he held back. I was at least thankful for that.

"A…Ah hear about them all the tahme on the news, y'know? They're, uh…" She mumbled, forcing a nervous smile.

"Mama," I said, taking a step closer to her. I could see her trying her hardest not to flinch. "The mutants you usually see on the news… Well, most of 'em are bad. The ones that wanna hurt humans." She said nothing so I continued. "But most of 'em are good. Lahke me and Logan. And a whole bunch more! The school I'm attending; it's all for mutants. Kids, teenagers, teachers, they're all mutants, and they're all good." I explained. Jeez, there was so much _to_ explain. There was everything that happened to me, the people I met, the things I did, what happened to my _Father_… I bit back tears but continued to smile. There were a couple moments of silence where we both were searching for something to say, something to break the awkward pause.

Logan cleared his throat and took a step forward. "I gotta take a leak." Okay, so not the most polite way, but sure, it was a distraction. "Which way…?" He pointed his thumb behind him and let it wander slightly. My mother stood up suddenly and stuttered while trying to direct Logan to the bathroom.

"I-It's just down there, d-down the hall and to the left. Just…"

"Thanks." He gave her a little smile and turned and left. I was looking over my shoulder, biting my lip as she twisted her fingers together nervously.

"So…" I said softly.

"So." She stated. My Mama turned around but averted her eyes, taking a few steps towards the kitchen. She began to fumble and fidget around with some utensils on the counter.

"Mama… Ah… Ah wanna tell you everything. About the school. About Logan a-and how Ah met him. When Ah left. Mah othah friends… _Everything._ " I urged her to look at me, so she could see how sincere I was. She finally turned her head and peeked out from under her bangs. "Mama?"

"Alraght, okay." She said, dropping a spatula onto the counter. Her hand was shaking as she raised it to her forehead, caressing her temples. "Ah'm sorry, Marie, Ah…" She dropped her hand and looked at me, tears in her eyes again. "Ah've missed you so much, sweetheart. Ah really have. Especially when you're father passed from the cancer…"

I swallowed again. Cancer. So that was it. Did he die slowly? Quickly? Was he in pain? Was he thinking of me? What type of cancer? My Papa didn't smoke; it couldn't have been lung cancer. What else? Too many questions. I was gonna lose it soon if I didn't get something off my chest. Anything.

"It's just… ever since the incident with David, everyone 'round here was…" She paused, searching for the right word. "Wary. Of mutants… of you."

"Oh."

"B-but, sweetheart, Ah know that if we explain to 'em what happened, they'll…"

"They'll never understand, Mama. They won't." I sighed and looked out the sliding glass door that opened up into the backyard. Everything was the same, except for the swing. She had taken the clichéd rope swing down from the old oak that had been there ever since I could remember. "Where's the swing, Mama?" I asked suddenly, trying to switch subjects.

She glanced out the window for a moment before looking back at me. "Ah… took it down soon after your Papa dahed. It reminded me too much a'him… and you." She cleared her throat again.

God, why was this so painful?

"Mama…?" I asked, looking at her, trying to decipher her body language. She tore her gaze away from the window above the sink to look at me. "Do you still love me?" The question hung in the air, the milliseconds of silence, deafening. But finally, my mother gazed upon me with those warm, chocolate brown eyes that I remembered so well and gave me a sincere, heartfelt smile.

"Of course Ah do, sweetheart." She swept across the kitchen floor and wrapped her arms – if not a little cautious – around me and squeezed me tightly. Careful not to make any contact, I hugged her back, tears coming to my eyes, yet again. Then there was as coughing, clearing-of-the-throat sound coming from the doorway. We both separated and I glanced over my shoulder.

Logan stood there, hands in his pockets, looking a little out of place. I couldn't help myself; I grinned.

"So, Mama, this is Logan," I said proudly, gesturing with a open palm towards the tall man behind me. As if on cue, he walked forward and sat down at the table, giving my mum a rare smile.

"Nice t'meet ya." He grunted as politely as he could.

"It's a pleasure." My mother said with a smile on her face. "So, what part do you play in my daughter's lahfe, Logan?"

"Well… Are you ready to hear everythin'? Ah mean, a _lot's_ happened in two years. And… it mahght get a little confusin'." I smiled and she returned it.

"Ah'm ready, sweetheart." She said with confidence.

"Ahll rahght. Here we go…"

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Well, that definitely took longer than I expected. We had arrived at my house at about two o'clock or so, and had talked all the way to and through supper. I had to start at the very beginning for my Mama; I had to explain to her why I left in the first place, where I went, how long I traveled. Obviously Logan learned a bit more about me too, since I had never really discussed anything about me or my family after I met him. I explained all the emotions I felt while making my way up to Canada and when I finally met Logan. I think I forced a couple of smiles out of him, bringing up some good memories.

He didn't talk much, surprisingly. He added some comments here and there, and maybe the rare question, but mostly he just sat there and ate most of the cookies. My mother stayed shockingly silent throughout my whole story, but I guess that was good, since I didn't have many distractions. I described how Logan saved my life countless times and why I got the white streaks in my hair, what type of friends I made, as well as describing each and ever one of the teachers at the school.

I think I had wrapped up about everything at around five thirty or six. My throat had dried out and I could barely speak, but it felt good. It felt so good to tell my mother everything. And for me, it was almost as if I rewound my life and revisited the good – and the bad – of it.

After I finished my long-winded tale, I curled up on the couch with my mum and watched some television while Logan took the truck out to do God knows what. I guessed that he went out for a smoke and a beer, but didn't let my mother in on that minor detail. But from all the explaining, nerves and traveling I had done, I was exhausted and had fallen asleep on my mother's lap at around nine or so. She ordered me to go upstairs and get to bed, 'since I'd had a long and tiring day'. I yawned as I tried to persuade her to let me stay, but she gave me that motherly smile and gingerly pecked the top of my head. I could tell as I slipped off the couch that she was relieved that nothing happened to her, when she had touched my head. I was thankful, at that moment, for not having soul-sucking hair. I said goodnight and headed upstairs. Logan hadn't arrived back yet, but I wasn't expecting him home any time soon.

I made it up the last step and glanced down the hallway. My parent's room (_Or now just my mother's…_ A voice in the back of my head kindly reminded me) was the first on the right and mine was just a little down and to the left. There was a bathroom beside my room and on the other side of that was the guest room. I peeled my gloves off and let my bare fingers brush against the pale blue walls until I reached my room. The door was closed, so I reached out and opened it, peering into the darkness. I flipped a switch and the room was bathed in a warm glow. I shut the door behind me and then turned and looked around.

It looked exactly like it had two years ago, everything in place and nothing moved, touched, or taken away. I couldn't hide my smile as I noticed that my map of North America was still above my bed, with my pinned route still leading straight to Anchorage. I shut the door softly behind me and walked over to my bed and climbing up onto it. I looked up at the map and then traced my fingers over the ribbon, leading from Toronto to Edmonton and through more Canadian cities until it reached Anchorage.

I never new exactly _why _I wanted to travel to that remote Alaskan city, but for some reason, it had always been a dream of mine; to drive up on a road trip to some cold, far away place. My hand dropped as the memory of this exact scene played through my head, when David was here. I had experienced what I guess you could call 'my first kiss' right here, on this bed, but it had turned out horribly wrong.

I sighed tiredly and crawled off my bed and walked over to my closet, opening the doors and peering inside. Again, all of my stuff was still in there. I pulled out some long blue and white pajama pants and a white, three-sizes-too-big t-shirt and brought it over to my bed where I began to strip down to my underwear. Just as I reached up to unhook my bra, the door opened and in stepped Logan.

"Hey, Marie, I was just wonderin'–" He paused as his eyes drifted over my nearly naked body. They widened and it took him a moment or two for him to realize that I was undressing. "Oh, God, I–I'm sorry…!" He turned his head and averted his eyes, stumbling back through the door. Strangely enough, I wasn't feeling very embarrassed. I was actually quite amused, especially by Logan's expression. I don't think anyone had seen him blush before. I suppressed a grin and tugged my pants and shirt on, slipped my gloves on, and then hurriedly left my room in search for the stricken Logan.

"Logan…?" I called out, trying not to smile. "Logan, um, you wanted to ask me something?"

I heard him clear his throat and some creaks from a mattress. I was near the bathroom door when he stepped out of the guestroom, hands in his pockets.

"Hey…?" I said, fidgeting with the fabric of my glove.

"Uh, yeah. I was wonderin' if, well, ya had any sheets for…" He drifted off and jerked his thumb behind him towards the guestroom.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get those."

"Uh, well… yeah. Thanks." He turned around and hurried back into the room.

I pursed my lips in an attempt to stop myself from smiling and turned to find some bed sheets. A little farther down from my mum's room was a little closet where we kept bed stuff. I grabbed some white sheets and a blanket, then two pillows. My arms were loaded with bedding, so I hobbled towards the guest room with a limited view.

"Hey, Logan, I've got some—" I glanced up over the pile of fabric in my arms just in time to see that I was walking straight towards the wall. "Ow!" I cried out as I managed to miss hitting my head with the doorframe but stubbed my toe. I cried out in pain and dropped the bedcovers to grab my toe. "Fucking hell!" I fell on top of the fallen linens and pained tears automatically sprang to my eyes. "Goddammit…"

I heard Logan chuckle – now obviously totally over the past embarrassment – and make his way towards me. I felt his hands on my covered arms and he tried to lift me up while he continued to laugh under his breath.

"Oh, fuck you!" I said, whipping away from him as my toe throbbed angrily. His laughing stopped abruptly and I instantly regretted it.

"Sorry…" He mumbled.

"No, no, it's okay… I'm sorry I snapped at you…" I muttered afterwards.

I rubbed my foot and sighed as the harsh, painful throb in my big toe subsided to a dull pulse. In that time, he had hurriedly taken the sheets and blankets to his bed and was at my side again, pulling me up. I was on my feet and right in front of Logan. He was only wearing a wifebeater and his large hands were still wrapped around my gloved arms. His biceps were bulging and my breath shortened as my eyes traveled up his toned chest and up to his square face. He looked down at me and I looked up at him.

"Logan…" I whispered, heard beating wildly. One of his hands loosened and it rose to brush a strand of my white hair from my eye. I swallowed, staring at him. Oh my God, was he…? Should I…? Was this actually happening? Maybe if I… Oh God… A thousand thoughts raced through my mind at a mile a minute, and I had to remind myself to breath.

"…okay?" He said, jerking me out of my dreamy gaze. His hands were at his sides and he seemed a little farther back.

"What…?" I said, a little dazed.

"I said, is your foot okay?"

I suddenly flushed. No, flush wasn't the right word. More like, turned-a-bright-scarlet-and-felt-so-utterly-embarrassed-that-I-wanted-to-throw-myself-underneath-the-bed-and-never-come-out sort of flush. Yeah, that was more like it.

"Marie?"

It took me a moment or two to realize what he was asking, and then make sure I answered him with something that didn't sound too insane.

"Yes! Yup, good, fine. Um… so yeah, you've got sheets, blanket, pillows… okay, good." I gave him a forced, embarrassed, and probably crazy-looking smile and turned on my heel before I could humiliate myself further. "Night Logan!" I called out as I left his room and hurried into mine.

I shut the door and collapsed onto my bed. I had _not_ just done that. I had _not_ just thought Logan was going to kiss me. I grabbed the nearest thing – which turned out to be a large, brown teddy bear I used to sleep with – and hit myself over the head with it a good number of times. I felt like screaming. How could I have been so _stupid_?! Augh!! Well, it was final: I was never showing my face around Logan again. Ever.

I didn't, nor couldn't, handle looking at Logan tonight without blushing like that again, so I decided to skip my normal bathroom routine and just crawled into my comforting bed. The same scene played, rewound, and replayed over and over again in my mind and I couldn't stop telling myself how freaking moronic I was to even _think_ Logan would be interested in _me_. I mean, sure he cared about me in a… fatherly or brotherly way, I guess, and I obviously liked him, but still… I moaned pathetically into my pillow and waited for the darkness of sleep to engulf me.

I wished with every part of me that tomorrow would be less humiliating.


	9. Under My Skin

Title

**Under My Skin**

_Author's Note__: Okay, so that was the longest wait EVER. I am extremely sorry for the delay, but I ran into a writer's block while I had exams, and then there was summer and I was out and about, as well as work... Anywho, enough excuse-making, here's Chapter 9! Comments and reviews are greatly appreciated!_

**--**

"Be who you are and say how you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."

- Dr. Seuss

**--**

I opened my eyes, then blinked, once… twice…. Three times. Yeah, the walls were the same colour and just at the top of my vision I could see the edge of my map. I let out a slow, steady breath of air. Yes. I was home. I turned over and glanced at my bedside clock, which read 10:26. I sat up and yawned, feeling very satisfied and regenerated from all the traveling and emotions I had been through the last couple of days. I ran my fingers through my hair before making my way downstairs; gloves pulled haphazardly on my hands, and entered the kitchen while my mother and Logan were having a calm conversation.

"… And that's when Ah heard the screamin'. Ah ran up the stairs, fast as Ah could—" As I stepped into the kitchen, their eyes turned on me and I saw my mother's lips spread out into a huge grin. "Mornin', sweetheart!" She jumped up and came towards me and I couldn't help but smile back. As she neared, she carefully placed her hands on my covered shoulders and planted a big, if not slightly hesitant kiss on my head. I was surprised – happy, but definitely surprised – at her audacity to go anywhere near my exposed skin, and gave her a proud smile as she stepped back. "There's breakfast on the stove an' some fresh orange juice in the fridge. Ah gotta go finish up hangin' some laundry, so Ah'll let you two have some peace." She winked and left hurriedly, grabbing the laundry basket filled with wet clothing in one hand and left out the back door into the backyard.

I stood there for a second, watching her set the basket down near the tree where our clothesline had been strung ever since I could remember, and watched her begin to hang the clothing up in the bright mid-morning sun. After a moment or two I turned towards the stove and grabbed a plate from the cupboard. There were some scrambled eggs leftover in a frying pan with a piece of toast and three pieces of bacon beside it. I took what was left and then joined Logan at the kitchen table.

I had a feeling he had been watching me while I got my breakfast together (just that feeling of someone's eyes on you, y'know?) but when I went to sit down he was staring at the newspaper with a blasé expression on his face. I plunked myself down and pulled the comics out from beneath the newspaper Logan was reading and he looked up, raising his eyebrow jokingly. I smiled and began to fork my scrambled eggs into my mouth. I stood up after finishing my eggs and poured myself a glass of orange juice, then made my way back to the table.

"How'dya sleep?" I asked, taking a sip from my cup. He shrugged.

"Fine." We sat in silence for a while as I finished my breakfast.

"Marie…" He said softly, but just loud enough for me to hear him.

"Yeah?" I said, glancing up from my plate.

"Uh… well," He scratched the nape of his neck, almost nervously. "Last night…" I froze, fork halfway to my mouth my heart picking up speed. Was he going to chastise me? Laugh? Tease? I tried to control the blush spreading over my cheeks as he continued. "When I opened your door, I… you know I didn't see… anything, right?"

My blush disappeared and I let the breath I didn't know I had been holding out through my nose. I cleared my throat and tried to hide my smile. He was hunched over the table, eyes glued to the same newspaper page it had been for the past ten minutes or so. It wasn't very Logan-like at all.

"It's fine." I said, getting up to put my dishes into the dishwasher. "I know you didn't mean to." I said with a smirk in my voice. I closed the machine door and wiped my hands on my pajama pants, turning around just as my mother came back into the kitchen. Good timing on Logan's part.

"So sweetheart," She said as she placed the empty basket on the kitchen table. "Some… friends ah comin' ovah tonight, and—"

"Wait, what?" I interrupted, looking up from the dishwasher.

My mother smiled wrung her hands together nervously. "Yeah, a-and some family too."

I opened my mouth to try and find the right words. "Ah… but, don't cha think… Mama…"

"Everythang's gonna be fahne, sweetheart, don't ch'you worry 'bout that." She picked up the laundry basket and smiled again at me. "Ah just invahted Gramma and Gramps, mah sis, the cousin's, David and his family, the Burkes…" She listed a few more names of close family friends while I stood there with my mouth slightly open. "They're all gonna be here at about 6:30, and we've got some cleanin' and cookin' ta do, so go have ya showah and then we'll start." She left the kitchen and disappeared upstairs.

I stood there, unable to move. Goin' back home to my mother was one thing, but… seeing my whole family and friends too? What if they weren't as understanding, or they were scared, or… David's face flashed through my mind and I mentally cringed. I couldn't face him, not after what I had done to him. Dear God, if tonight wasn't going to be the most uncomfortable night in my history of living, I wouldn't know what would be.

"Careful, yer gonna break that thing." Logan said jokingly, pulling the plate from between my clenched fingers.

I instantly let go and it fell to the ground with a shattering crash. The pieces skidded against the floor in every direction and I jumped from the loud noise, stepping back and landing on a shard of porcelain.

"_Ow!_" I cried out, taking another step back. But before I could place my foot down on even more sharp pieces of broken plate, Logan swung around and literally swept me off my feet. Surprised at the sudden movement and distracted by the pain at the bottom of my foot, I blinked a couple times to get rid of the tears in my eyes, and then glanced at Logan. His face was just a good couple inches from mine and when our eyes met there was a sharp intake of breath. I realized it was me who had breathed in quickly and I couldn't help but blush furiously at my godforsaken clumsiness. He dodged the small bits of porcelain and made it to the kitchen table in only two quick paces, and set me down on one of the chairs.

"Jesus Christ, you okay?" He said, grabbing my pant leg and pulling my leg up so that he could examine my foot. The cut was on the bottom part of my heel but because of my position, I couldn't tell if it was bad or not. "I swear to God, kid, you're the most clumsy person I know…" He muttered under his breath.

I tried to clear my head of all my raging thoughts and glanced down at my foot. Blood was covering my heel and dripping slowly onto the kitchen floor. "Y-yeah, fine…" I said breathlessly.

He stood up swiftly and grabbed a piece of paper towel from the counter, then dabbed at my food with it. I winced once but the pain had subsided to a dull throb.

"It's not that big, just deep…" Logan finally concluded, looking up at me. His amber gaze bore through me and after a moment I realized I was staring at him.

"Oh, um, just… uh, I'll just get a bandaid then." I began to stand up but his hands were on my shoulders, pushing me back down. Without speaking a word, he placed his bare hand on the top of my food. My mutation kicked in and I was flooded with Logan's thoughts and feelings and memories. The contact was only a couple of seconds but when he finally pulled away, we were both breathing heavily. I opened my eyes and I knew that the cut was gone; fully healed, thanks to Logan's healing ability. I then moved my gaze so that it was resting on him. He was sitting on the ground, legs splayed out in an exhausted manner, and one arm propping him up from behind while the other was clutching his forehead.

"_For fuck's sake, Logan!_" I screamed, tears stinging at my eyes, but this time, not from the cut. "What the _hell_ was that?!" He took some deep breaths and finally unclenched his eyes to look up at me. Other than a little pale and sweaty, he looked fine.

"Just speedin' up the process, that's all." Logan sat up and wiped the remaining blood off of my foot. I pulled back sharply, and had the sudden urge to kick him.

"Speedin' up the _process_?! Jesus, Logan, you know I hate it when you do that!" I cried out.

Logan looked towards the doorway just as I heard my mother's footsteps rushing down the stairs. She came in hurriedly, worry obvious in her expression.

"What happened?" She asked. "Ah heard somethin' smash and then some yellin'…"

"Nothin', Ma… Ah just dropped a plate, Ah'm sorry…" I muttered, trying to conceal my anger. "Ah'll clean it up, everythang's fahne." I looked at her and nodded. She hesitated but nodded back and left quietly upstairs.

Logan and I waited in silence, and after a minute or so of tension he finally turned around and began to pick up the pieces of broken dishware.

"Ah got it…" I muttered, standing up and hurriedly picking up shards as well.

"No, it's fine." His hand rested on my covered shoulder lightly and he looked me straight in the eye. His jaw was clenched but he spoke with patience. "I got it. Go… get ready."

I sighed, knowing that there was no way I could win this one, and left the kitchen. I headed upstairs and into my room where I pulled out a pair of jeans and a plain t-shirt, then headed to the bathroom. Before I started the water I heard Logan open and close the front door, and then start up his truck and pull off. Great. We were both in bad moods today. I sighed heavily and stepped into the shower, letting the warm water pound against my skin.

My skin. Goddamnit, I hated it. Everything about it. And Logan knew better than to do that. He _knew_ I hated borrowing other people's powers. Especially when he did it, because he thought with his healing mutation he had a good excuse to help me. God, it got under my skin. I didn't want to hurt anyone. Ever. Logan, for some reason, rarely ever cared about his own well being whenever I was around, and while it felt good at times, it made me feel guilty as well. What if something happened to him while he was protecting me? What if he got hurt, or even worse, if I hurt him beyond repair? Sure, he had healing powers, but I didn't know the extent of my mutation, and I was sure as hell wasn't about to find out.

As I scrubbed shampoo into my hair, I slowly let down the careful barricade I had erected to keep Logan's fresh thoughts and memories from mentally pummeling me and warily sifted through them. They were quite recent, since the contact was only for a couple of seconds, but I was still getting snippets of his dreams. I tried not to concentrate too hard on any of his thoughts, since they were, well, his thoughts, and therefore should be private in any other person's case. I rinsed the shampoo from my hair and then followed with conditioner, then shut off the water and dried off.

When I went back downstairs, Logan was still obviously gone, and had left no note or anything whatsoever. I felt guilty, as always, and hoped he'd be back soon so I could apologize. I knew I had this thing for making mountains out of molehills and wished that it was some sort of trait that I'd grow out of, and quickly.

Sighing, I rested my hands on my hips and looked around. The kitchen definitely needed some cleaning up and a little dusting here and there in the living room. It wouldn't take that long, but I guessed my mother probably wanted me to help her cook – and I knew when my mother prepared for a party, she went all out – so I began cleaning quickly. Wiping down the counters, washing dishes, and then a quick sweep across the floor and under the table was all it took in the kitchen. I then moved onto the living room where I had to pull out the vacuum and duster, and worked on that for about an hour or so. My thoughts were able to drift due to the constant whirring drone of the vacuum, and I couldn't help but wonder what the guests would do.

Would they just not show up? Would they be scared? Happy? Angry? Would David be there? I stopped vacuuming for a moment, remembering his pale, discoloured face as he choked and grasped for air. I blinked hard and began sweeping the vacuum back and forth with more force than necessary, trying to work the burning image from my mind.

"Marie, sweetheart? You okay?" My mother's voice startled me from my daze and I looked up suddenly.

I paused my vacuuming and mustered the most natural smile I could. "Yeah, Mama. Ah'm fahne." I turned off the vacuum so that we didn't have to yell.

"Ahlright. Um, where'd ya friend Logan go?" She asked.

"Uh," I shrugged. "He just went out. He's... well, it ain't unusual for him to disappear for a whahle. He'll be back, though." The last part was mainly for me, trying to tell myself that he would come back. He had to. I decided to change the subject. "Ah'm ahlmost done in here. You need any help with anythang?"

"Well," She said, turning into the kitchen and glancing into the fridge. "I'll be cookin' all ahftahnoon, but Ah need to pick up some stuff at the grocery store first." She closed the door and glanced back at me. "Y'know, we could stop bah the mahll on ah way back. Don'cha want some new clothes, honey?"

I smiled a genuine smile this time and nodded my head. "Ah'd love that Mama."

When we got into the car and made our way to the local grocery store, I had to say, it was a bit awkward at first. It was one of the first times that my mom and I had spent together, alone. But she as soon as she opened up with a question about school, more so to do with friends and my studies, I felt any trace of awkwardness disappear and we were like we had never ben separated.

It felt good to be with my mother, doing normal, human things. We picked out the ingredients we needed, talked about what we should cook, and recalled old family stories and memories. It felt good.

After we picked up all the groceries, we stopped at the mall and began to look for some new clothes for me. I liked shopping but had never been a huge shopper; I wasn't one of those girls who could literally spend a whole day shopping (like Jubilee). An hour or two was just enough for me. I liked this time I spent with my mother, getting closer with her and rekindling our bond. At around 2:30 we decided to call it quits and headed home.

The rest of the afternoon was spent cooking and setting the house up. Tables and chairs were brought outside and of course plates, utensils and napkins had to be put out as well. It took a while but it felt good. It was just about 6:15 or so when my mother told me to go get ready. I slipped on a white hippie-like skirt as well as some nude leggings for protection, and a long sleeved but airy green shirt. I brushed my hair and dabbed a bit of makeup on, since my collection from years ago sat in my bathroom drawer, unused. When I came back downstairs at 6:40, some family members had already arrived.

I could year them in the kitchen, and by the sound of their voices, I could tell it was my grandparents and my Aunt Karen. When I listened harder I could hear the sounds of my cousins and uncle outside in the backyard. I took a deep breath as I felt my heart beat begin to escalate. Suddenly, I wasn't sure anymore. Suddenly, I didn't want to be here. I began to hyperventilate and didn't even notice my grandmother come around the corner.

"It's in mah purse, Ah'll just--" She turned her head and our eyes locked. I held my breath as her eyes drifted over my body, examining and scrutinizing every single nook and cranny of me. When her eyes met mine again, a large grin lit up her face, her eyes dark blue eyes crinkling. "Marie... mah darlin'!" She cried out and rushed towards me. As ecstatic as I was, I took a quick step back and held up a hand to warn her.

"Be careful, Gramma. Ah... Ah can't make skin contact with ya." My voiced wobbled and my heart continued to race.

She hesitated but didn't ask any questions. Instead, she opened her arms and let me walk into them. I did so carefully, making sure that my hair covered the side of my face as I lay it on her chest. After a minute or two we pulled away and I saw tears sparkling in her eyes. She took a deep breath and dabbed the corners of her eyes, then cautiously brushed my white locks from my face, eyeing them for a moment before looking back at me.

"Mah mah, you have grown! Look at'cha! Oh, Marie!" She continued to grin like a madwoman until my grandfather, mother, and aunt heard us and filed into the hallway. We both turned to face them and I couldn't help but smile at them. My mother looked proud, my Grampa as happy as my Gramma, and my Aunt Karen... my heart's beat stumbled as our eyes met, the cold glare I was receiving almost freezing my blood. I swallowed, my mouth dry all of a sudden.

"Marie, pumpkin! Darling, we've missed you!" My Grampa shouted, rushing forward just like my grandmother. As we carefully embraced, the smell of pipe tobacco washed over me and his comforting non-Mississippi drawl made me feel perfectly at home. He pulled me back sharply, holding onto my shoulders. "Lemme get a good look at'cha! Jeez, you're practically a fine lady now, aren't ya?" He guffawed and I chuckled giddily. As he stepped back, their eyes dutifully were drawn to Karen. There was a moment of silence between the five of us before she forced a sickly smile and nodded in my direction.

"Marie." She said. There was no warm emotion to it at all, but I could detect hints of disgust and fear. Another beat passed where no one spoke, but finally it was broken by the back door opening and the sound of young children echoing down the hall.

"Hey, Karen, is Marie downstairs y--" Uncle Benji walked in with Judith, the youngest of my cousins at two and a half years, clutched in his arms. Robert and Dominic, five and seven, rushed in passed his legs and towards me, squealing with delight. But before they could get within a couple feet radius, Karen's hands shot out and grabbed them both by their arms, stopping them in their tracks. My jaw dropped a bit as if to say something, but I clamped it shut quickly. I knew I would meet someone like this when I came back. It was inevitable.

"Be careful, Robert, Dominic..." She stole a glance at me before looking back down at them. "Cousin Marie is a little different than when we last saw her." I bit back a retort and instead crouched down and gave my cousins a big smile.

"Hey guys!" I extended my arms. "I'm the exact same as before, but you've just got to be extra careful, that's all." I took their hands in my gloved ones and continued. "You just can't touch my bare skin, that's all. Can you promise me you'll only hug parts that are covered?" I heard Karen suck in her breath but I ignored it. They grinned at me and nodded wildly. They both jumped at me but were careful enough to just wrap their tiny arms around my covered torso.

We made our way into the backyard where everything was set up, thanks to my mom. The tables were covered in food, there were seats and benches scattered around the yard, and where the clothesline hung there was a colourful banner with balloons tied onto it. Before we could even settle in outside, the other guests began to show up, some with gifts in their hands, others with wine or more food.

I couldn't honestly describe to anyone the amount of happiness I was experiencing that night. Most of my family and friends were getting used to the idea that I was a mutant, and although dangerous if not cautious, I was still the same Marie they knew two years ago. By eight o'clock, the party was bustling with people. I was discussing for the fifth or sixth time to some old school friends how I got the white streaks in my hair when my grandmother came up behind me and tapped my shoulder.

"Can Ah steal her for a moment or two?" She asked. My friends nodded and turned away, sipping at their drinks and nibbling at their meal, talking excitedly about how I had been up in the Liberty Statue that whole time on the news and they didn't even know. I smiled as Gramma pulled me away from the busyness and off to a darker part of the yard where the main part of my mother's garden grew.

"So, pumpkin, how is everything?" She asked, brushing hair from my face again. I smiled widely and nodded.

"Everything's goin' great, Gramma. Even better than I had hoped!"

"Good, good..." She paused and her hands twisted together nervously as if she had something to say. "Marie..." She looked up at me and the happy gleam in her eyes was gone; replaced with a mournful look.

"Yeah, Gramma? Somethin' wrong?"

"Sweetheart, Ah need ta tell ya somethin'. Ah just..." She sighed and looked towards the garden, then back at me. "Ah wished Ah had told you sooner. A lot sooner. If Ah had, none'a this mahght'a ever happened..." She muttered under her breath. I took her hand gently and gave it a squeeze.

"What is it, Gramma?" I asked quietly.

"Darlin'... Ah... Ah'm a... a, what do ya call it these days? A mutant. Ah'm a mutant too, pumpkin." She squeezed my hand back and once again tears glistened in her eyes. Taken aback, I was speechless and stood there, motionless while she let it sink in. "Ah know, Ah know, Ah should have toldya before alla this happened, and--"

"No, no, it's... it's okay." I whispered, cutting her off. Well, it certainly made sense. I mean, as far as I knew, my father and mother weren't mutants, and at school I had learned that the X-Factor had a tendency to skip generations... although the Professor told us that it was more dominant in the male gender. Shaking it off, I looked at her curiously. "What... what can you do, Gramma?"

She bent down slowly and stuck her whole hand into a soft patch of dirt. "You remember how spectacular mah garden's were, when you were youngah? And how Ah won a lot of gardenin' awards?" She closed her eyes and as I watched in amazement, a tiny green bud burst through the soil and continued to grow until a bright pink flower bloomed, right before my eyes. "You could say Ah might've cheated a little bit." She smiled sheepishly and stood back up, wiping the dirt off her hand.

"That's... that's ahmazin', Gramma! Ah can't believe it..." I said, slightly flabbergasted.

"Ah know Ah should have told you a long time ahgo, but Ah never thought Ah'd have to, seein' as you weren't showin' any sahgns of mutations. When it popped up for the first time, you just ran off. Ah'm so sorry, Marie..." She explained, the sadness reappearing in her eyes.

"It's okay, Gramma. No one knew, it's not your fault." I gave her a crooked smile. "Does Mama know? Or Grampa?" I asked, suddenly curious.

"Your grandfathah knows, but your mama don't. Neithah does Karen. They nevah developed anything, so Ah just decided to keep that to mahself." She sighed again glancing across the party where her eyes landed on my aunt. "Ah know the way she feels about ya, Marie. The way she feels about all of us." She shrugged. "Who knows, maybe one'a her kids'll have powers too."

I bit my lip, following my grandmother's gaze towards Karen. As much as I loved her, I knew Karen looked at me different now. She probably thought of me as scum, a disease to my family's lineage. I didn't really care what she thought about me - I already had enough years to thicken up my skin to people like her - but the only thing that bothered me was if what my Gramma said was true. What if Judith, Dominic or Robert had a mutant gene? What would Karen do then? Shaking my head lightly, I gave my grandmother a soft nudge.

"How about we get back to the party? Ah think there're still some people who wanna barrage me with questions." I smiled and took her arm as she laughed, leading her back to the small crowd of family and friends. As I made my way to the refreshment table to get another can of Coke, I spotted a familiar figure, leaning against the side of my house near the kitchen doors, his arms crossed over his chest. The cigar that was clamped between his teeth gave off a soft glow that cast his face in a light orange that flickered every so often. I gave him a wary smile and began to approach him.

"... Marie?" A lighter voice sounded to my left, a painfully familiar sound that made me freeze. I turned slowly until I saw a boy my age, hands shoved awkwardly into his pockets, eyes looking up through his lashes. He swallowed and licked his lips. "Uh, hey, Marie."

"David." My mouth was instantly dried and I was glad for the soft drink clutched in my clammy hands. "David, hey."

There was silence as we both scrutinized each other, looking at each other's features, clothing, trying to figure out what was different. He took a wary step closer and I could see now in the dim outdoor lights that he looked slightly pale. I took a deep breath.

"How... are you?"

"I'm... fine." He swallowed again. "A-and you?"

I cleared my throat and nodded. "I'm good." More silence. It felt like it stretched on forever, but it was probably just a couple of seconds. Finally, I found the courage I needed to tell him what I had been dying to tell him for years. "David..." I whispered, looking down so that he wouldn't see the tears forming in my eyes. "I am... so unbelievably sorry. For everything." He didn't say anything so I glanced up at him, my hair falling in front of my face.

"It's okay." He said, almost a bit too stiffly. Like he had been practicing that line over and over. "I... I know you didn't... mean it. I know you couldn't control it."

"I still can't." I murmured, unsure if he could hear me or not. I sniffed and looked at him. He wasn't all that different; probably taller, a little bit more grown out. His hair was shorter than I remembered it, but other than that, he was the same David I knew. "How are you... now? Um, did... did anything... happen? After?"

He shrugged, seeming a tiny bit more comfortable. "I think you know that I was in a coma for three weeks." I nodded, wincing at the pained memories. "After I woke up... well, it was like nothing had happened. I was fine, Marie. I just... I was just scared, I guess. Of what happened." He paused and his eyes met mine. "I just wondered where you were. Your mum and dad told me you had run off and the authorities couldn't even locate you." He nudged the ground with the toe of his shoe, pushing a small pebble back and forth. "But when your mom called yesterday about having this party for your return, I was..." I braced myself for his answer, for the slap in the face I deserved. "I was happy." The wind was knocked out of me and I couldn't help but widen my eyes.

"You were... happy?" I repeated, dumbfounded.

He nodded. "Yeah. I _wanted_ to see you again. To tell you that I was fine." He gave me the first smile I had seen since I last saw him. "I missed you."

"I... I missed you too, David. I was so worried... I'm so sorry." I stepped toward him and pursed my lips.

"It's okay. Now that I know what happened and why, I don't have to be scared. I can be happy that my friend is back home." He smiled again and I closed the distance between us. Carefully placing my hands around his waist where he could see what I was doing, I gave him a tight hug. He followed my gesture and wrapped his arms around me. I don't know how long we stood there for, but it felt really good. Finally, after who knows how long, I pulled away and looked up at him. Cautiously I placed my gloved fingers on his lips and lightly pressed mine to them. Pulling away again, I blushed and smiled, brushing my hair back.

"Thanks for coming, David. I didn't think you'd understand, y'know, what's up with my skin, but..."

"I'm glad I did. And hey," He smiled widely. "It's what's under the skin that counts, right?" I grinned back at him. He glanced behind me then back and sighed. "My mom's eyeing me. Listen, the party's sort of dwindling down, but do you wanna get together again tomorrow for coffee or something? I'd really enjoy catching up with you and stuff." David scratched the nape of his neck as his eyes twinkled.

"I'd enjoy it too. Call me whenever and I'll be ready." I took his hand and gave it a light squeeze before turning and making my way towards Logan. He looked liked he hadn't moved an inch, although the cigar was burnt down quite a bit. "Hey." I said, stopping a couple feet from him. I cracked open my drink and took a few of sips.

"Hey." He said back.

"Um..." I leaned up against the wall alongside him and looked up at his face. He was staring blankly out towards the yard. "I'm sorry for blowing up at you this morning. I know you were just helping."

He shrugged. "No big deal." It was quiet as we both surveyed the party. David was right; it was dwindling down. You could tell people were getting tired, ending their conversations and beginning to grab their belongings. "Who was that you were talkin' to?" Logan asked in his gravelly voice.

"David. My old boyfriend. The one that... he was the one I injured when my mutation first surfaced." I breathed out softly. Logan nodded. "Thanks for coming." I looked back up at him and he casually glanced at me through the corner of his eye.

"No problem."

"Marie! Marie, darlin', come say goodbye!" My mother cried out across the lawn.

"I'll see ya inside?" I asked Logan, pushing myself off the wall. He just nodded. I sighed as I walked away, hoping he wasn't still grumpy.

It seemed as if everyone decided to leave right after one another, so saying goodbye and having a couple last conversations proved to take quite a while. Once everyone had left and by the time my mother and I had moved most of the party stuff inside, it was just reaching 12:30. I yawned, surprised at how tired I was, and put the last of the leftovers in the fridge. My mother and Logan were both already upstairs, so, turning off all the lights, I headed to my room to get changed. After brushing my teeth, I went to the guest room and lightly rapped on the door.

"Yeah?" I heard Logan say on the other side. I opened it a bit and peeked in. He was in his jeans and just a wifebeater. My eyes couldn't help but stare at his biceps for a moment before stopping at his face.

"Can I talk to you quickly?" I asked. He nodded and I trotted in, closing the door behind me and then flopping onto his bed. I lay my head down on one of his pillows and shifted so that I was on my side. "Are you still mad at me from this morning?"

He glanced over his shoulder and quirked his eyebrow. "Sort of." He answered.

I sighed. "Logan, you don't have to be. You know how I overreact with everything. Especially my skin." I let my eyes drift close, feeling quite tired. "Please don't be grumpy." I yawned. "I... I don't like it when you're all holed up like this." I heard him sigh.

"But you're right, Marie. I... I have no right to do that. If it bothers you, I should be smart enough to keep my goddamn hands to myself." I heard him say. I tried to reply but my mouth didn't seem to be working that well, so I just let out a quiet groan. I thought he said something else, but I didn't hear it. I fell fast asleep.


End file.
